A couple of yoga sessions a week could help ease sleep problems and other effects of menopause, a small study suggests. The study, reported in the journal Menopause, included postmenopausal women diagnosed with insomnia.
“We are not saying that yoga can cure postmenopausal symptoms”, said Dr. Helena Hachul, one of the study authors. "But it can improve and relieve them."Hachul and her colleagues randomly assigned 44 women to one of three groups. Fifteen had no treatment, 14 did stretches with a physical therapist twice a week and 15 participated in yoga classes twice a week.
The yoga sessions included a variety of stretching positions and Tibetan techniques used for strong and fast breathing. After four months, women in the yoga group reported fewer menopause problems than those who did nothing.
Women often experience hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, and irritability during menopause, and some have trouble sleeping or feel down. Hormone replacement therapy eases many of those problems, but comes with risks of heart disease, stroke and breast cancer, according to the Women's Health Initiative study from 2002.
Since then, fewer women are taking hormones and many have looked to alternative methods of dealing with their problems, including taking herbs such as black cohosh and red clover for hot flashes. But one study found those remedies are no better than dummy pills.
Homeopathic treatments such as evening primrose oil, ginseng, kava, licorice, or sage, have also been a disappointment, according to the North American Menopause Society. By contrast, research has shown that yoga reduces stress levels and curbs the activity of the sympathetic nervous system's "fight or flight" response, the body's reaction to threat or danger. "This is part of the accumulating evidence that shows the benefits of yoga," said Cathryn Booth-LaForce about the latest findings.