Study using yoga breathing technique to improve mental health for health care workers

London, Ont. — Front-line health care workers have been placed in uniquely challenging situations since COVID-19 surfaced and many are struggling with mental health issues.

That’s why researchers at the Lawson Health Research Institute have launched the BREATH study, which will compare two types of interventions to help build resilience for front line health care workers.

Sixty participants are being recruited for the study.

Half will use a breath-based yoga intervention called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga and the other half will use a Health Enhancement Program with specific health self-management techniques.

“This can be done in a safe and confidential manner and your resilience and mental health should improve dramatically to a point where, hey, the pandemic is growing and we have to face it but we don’t lose work,” says Dr. Akshya Vasudev, associate scientist at Lawson. “We also don’t have any absences, we don’t feel stressed out and we don’t have traumas or severe comorbidity that you want to try to avoid.”

The hopes are this will lead to better interventions and tools to help health care workers faced with mental health challenges.

The research team is still in the recruiting stage. If you’re a front-line health care worker who has experienced mental health concerns due to COVID-19, you can sign up for the study at: www.lawsonresearch.ca