Yoga and perceived stress

Objective: College is a time of stress for attendees. Stress among students is of great public health importance, those who experience high stress loads are subject to adverse academic and mental health outcomes. Research on the general population suggests participation in yoga can help alleviate perceived stress. This research aimed to observe changes in perceived stress in University of Pittsburgh students enrolled in a five week group fitness yoga class.\ud \ud Methods: Following a case series design, the effects of participation in twice weekly yoga classes were observed in 14 university students. Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale, a measure of the perceived uncontrollability of individuals’ lives, was used to measure changes in reported perceived stress in the first, third and fifth weeks of yoga classes.\ud \ud Results: Nine of the 14 students evaluated exhibited a decrease in perceived stress by the end of the summer session. On average, students perceived their stress to decrease by 1.8 points with a median decrease of 2 PSS points. \ud \ud Conclusion: The present research observed positive changes in perceived stress in university students participating in a five week yoga course. Considering the public health impact of stress among students, this study be used as a starting point for future studies investigating the effectiveness of yoga participation on perceived stress when compared to a control population.\u