The Impact of Yoga Exercises on Athletes’ Anxiety and Sleep Quality in the Coronavirus Pandemic

The rapid and limitless outbreak of the coronavirus in 2019 caused athletes to quarantine in their homes, resulting in stress and anxiety and the experience of negative symptoms, such as sleep disorder. The present study aims to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of yoga exercise on athletes’ anxiety and sleep quality during the pandemic.

Twenty-four athletes with an average age of 18 to 25 years were selected and classified into two experimental and control groups. Before and after the intervention, Beck’s anxiety inventory and Pittsburgh’s sleep quality inventory were used to collect data. The experimental group training protocol consisted of 24 Hatha yoga exercise sessions (60 minutes, three times a week). Due to the coronavirus epidemic, online training was conducted by an experienced yoga coach. The statistical method of covariance analysis was used to investigate the difference between the pre-test and post-test.

Data analysis showed that in the experimental group, the anxiety mean scores in the pre-test decreased in the post-test, and the quality of sleep scores improved after yoga sessions. Also, a significant difference was observed between the experimental and control groups regarding anxiety (P<0.05) and sleep quality (P<0.05).

According to the results, yoga exercises are an effective way to reduce anxiety and improve athletes, sleep quality, and athletes can benefit from yoga exercises along with their specialized exercises to control their negative emotions, reduce mental symptoms, and enjoy relaxation. Not only athletes but all people in the community can incorporate yoga and meditation exercises into their lifestyles to control their negative emotions.