Yoga can improve the lives of cancer patients

Cancer survivors often complain of poor sleep and fatigue, and new research shows that yoga may help.

Most of the study subjects were breast cancer patients after chemotherapy. More than 400 of them were divided into two groups. One group practiced gentle Hatha yoga and restorative yoga, which included specific formulas, as well as breathing and spiritual training, twice a week. The control group received only basic treatment.

It was found that people who practiced yoga were able to reduce the dose of sleeping pills, and the indicator of sleep quality increased by 22%, which was almost twice the improvement of the control group. Yoga also almost halves the feeling of fatigue and improves the quality of life.

Researchers from the University of Rochester emphasized that the results of this clinical study do not apply to every type of yoga. Although the medical community does not fully understand why yoga has this effect, previous research has pointed out that yoga may reduce people's stress hormones. (Internship Editor: Li Jianhong)