Effect of Suryanamaskar on the Sleep Quality and General Well-being among Young Adults: A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction: Rapid decline in physical functionality has an adverse impact on both physical and psychological health. Deteriorating sleep quality during the pandemic is one such common manifestation, that further affects the general well-being. Therefore, safe non pharmacological treatments are warranted, and the practice of suryanamaskar is one such intervention. Aim: To find the effectiveness of suryanamaskar on sleep quality and general well-being among young adults. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Physiotherapy Department at Ashirwad Bhagwat Multispecialty Clinic, Sonipat, Haryana, from March 2021 to July 2021. A total of 30 young adults were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into two groups of 15 participants each. The experimental group practiced 8 weeks of suryanamaskar yogic exercise, also known as sun salutations, which comprises of 12 different postures performed with controlled breathing. The control group performed 20 mins of walk. Sleep quality and General Well-being (GWB) were evaluated preintervention and postintervention using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) respectively, along with the resting Heart Rate (HR) and Blood Pressure (BP). A higher PGWBI score denotes greater psychological well-being and a total PSQI score of 5 or more indicates poor sleep quality. The effect of the intervention on GWB, sleep quality, BP and HR were assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test within the group and the Mann-Whitney test was used to find a statistical difference between the two groups. Results: After 8 weeks of yoga training, a significant difference was found in the overall sleep quality (9.53±1.68, p-value=0.001), GWB (78.33±14.76, p-value=0.001), HR (77.07±5.48, p-value=0.001), SBP (116.67±2.99, p-value=0.001) and BMI (23.01±3.17, p-value=0.019) in the experimental group. However, the control group revealed a significant difference only in the GWB (50.80±13.87, p-value=0.019) postintervention. Additionally, when compared to the control group, the experimental group revealed statistically significant results for sleep quality (p-value=0.001), GWB (p-value <0.001) and HR (p-value=0.007). Conclusion: The study suggests, that yoga training comprising suryanamaskar has positive effects on sleep quality and general well-being.