Yoga Boots Brain Power Better Than Running: Study Showed Short-Term Memory, Reaction Time Benefits

An ancient practice that has survived generations and the changing times, yoga is known to pack plenty of benefits for those who practice it.

A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found a more striking result—a 20-minute yoga session boosts brain function better than a 20-minute run or walk on a treadmill.

Researchers asked 30 female college students to perform cognitive tasks following a yoga session, a treadmill exercise and once again after doing nothing, discovering that the women performed better on the concentration and short-term memory tests following yoga. According to the study, there was actually little difference in the subjects' memory and the ability to process information after the aerobic and baseline sessions.

On the treadmill, the women worked out to maintain 60 to 70 percent of their maximum heart rate throughout the session.

"This range was chosen to replicate previous findings that have shown improved cognitive performance in response to this intensity," the researchers said.

"Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation," said Neha Gothe, the study's leader. "The practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored."

The 20-minute yoga session included a sequence of seated, standing, and supine yoga postures, ending in a meditative posture and deep breathing. 

"It appears that following yoga practice, the participants were better able to focus their mental resources, process information quickly, more accurately and also learn, hold and update pieces of information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise bout," Gothe said.

"The breathing and meditative exercises aim at calming the mind and body and keeping distracting thoughts away while you focus on your body, posture or breath," she said. "Maybe these processes translate beyond yoga practice when you try to perform mental tasks or day-to-day activities."

The team's findings were published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.