Yoga and meditation may be views as a fad in the west but has a major rep in its own country. But despite their reputations of being a help to the mental and physical health, science says it affects your body and mind might just surprise you.
According to an analysis conducted by the fitness product review site, FitRated, People who practice yoga, people who practice mindfulness meditation, people who practice both, and people who don't practice either. For the analysis, the data from the CDC's 2017 National Health Interview Survey. This annual survey collected responses from nearly 27,000 people across the U.S. about a wide range of health- and wellness-related topics. The survey was able to conclude that many people found that the practices improved many aspects of their health. Close to a third of people who meditated and did yoga claimed that their overall health was better than the previous year. This is nothing new: As TIME reported, studies have shown meditation and mindfulness (which is a large component of yoga) may help with stress-related conditions. Considering stress can negatively impact the most aspects of your health for even after a decade after the fact, adopting practices that combat it, in the long run, is never a bad idea. FitRated noted that these reported health benefits could be partly due to the placebo effect, but still.
Interestingly, the analysis found that there was a higher prevalence of mental health issues among people who practice meditation and yoga than those who did not. Around 27 percent of people who practice meditation, and 22 percent who practice meditation and yoga, reported feeling hopeless in the past thirty days.
As John Hopkins Medicine reported, there are some studies that have linked improved sleep to yoga. What's more, according to Harvard Health, research has shown mindful meditation can help fight insomnia. Despite this, FitRated found that there was little difference between the sleep quality of people who practiced yoga and meditation and those who did not. In fact, people who reported only meditating had the most difficulty falling and staying asleep, followed by the survey participants who reported practicing both yoga and meditation.
The link between these wellness practices, sleep, and mental health may be a little surprising to some. What is clear is, both yoga and meditation come with very little health risks (if any), and still boast a ton of benefits. If you're into it, go for it!