Burnout

Improve Mental Health and Well-Being with Yoga Practice

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Zen lounges, yoga helping HCA Houston nurses relieve stress

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Systematic Review of Yoga Interventions on the Mental Health of Nursing Professionals and Students” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12068460/ ) Arya and colleagues reviewed and summarized the published research studies on the effectiveness of yoga interventions on the mental health of nurses and nursing students. They report that the published studies found that yoga interventions significantly improved mental health including reductions in stress, depression, and burnout and significant increases in sleep quality, mindfulness, and life satisfaction.

 

Yoga is effective in improving mental health and well-being among nurses and students.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on the Contemplative Studies Blog  http://contemplative-studies.org

 

Study Summary

 

Arya RG, Srivastava D, Divya BR, Madhu, Bhargav H. A Systematic Review of Yoga Interventions on the Mental Health of Nursing Professionals and Students. Int J Yoga. 2025;18(1):13-26. doi:10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_195_24

 

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the impact of yoga interventions on preventing and alleviating mental health issues, including stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, and other related factors among nursing professionals and students. The review adhered to the PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024512366). A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Google Scholar and PubMed using keywords such as “nursing students,” “nursing professionals,” “yoga interventions,” and “mental health.” Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2024, involving nursing population and yoga-based interventions targeting mental health outcomes. The risk of bias was assessed using the CASP tool. The search identified 14 RCTs (967 participants, predominantly female, age range – 18 to 69 years) that met the eligibility criteria. The yoga intervention varied in duration (10 minutes to 1 hour per session), frequency (once to five times weekly), and protocols (Laughter yoga being the most common). Mental health outcomes such as stress, anxiety, burnout, mindfulness, depression, quality of sleep, and life satisfaction were assessed. Most studies reported significant improvements in these outcomes in the yoga intervention groups compared to control groups. Nine studies showed a significant stress reduction, and 3 studies found a decrease in anxiety. No adverse effects were reported, and dropout rates varied between 0% to 52.1%. Yoga was found to be effective in improving mental health and well-being among nursing professionals and students. Yoga mainly reduced stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression, suggesting its potential as a low-cost, accessible intervention for mental health management in this population. Future studies should focus on refining protocols and exploring long-term effects to establish yoga as an integral part of mental health care for nursing professionals and students.

 

Adding a Psychedelic Drug to Mindfulness Training Enhances Relief of Burnout and Depression

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Combining psychedelics with meditation increases mindfulness and mystical-type transcendence

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

In today’s Research News article “Psilocybin-Assisted Group Psychotherapy + Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Frontline Healthcare Provider COVID-19 Related Depression and Burnout: A Randomized Clinical Trial” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11722457/pdf/nihpp-2024.12.31.24319806v1.pdf )  Lewis and colleagues performed a randomized clinical trial of the effectiveness of Mindfulness training (8-wks of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction – MBSR) with or without an additional Psychedelic drug (psilocybin) on the mental health of healthcare workers suffering from burnout and depression.

 

They found that the addition of the psychedelic drug significantly increased the relief of depression, burnout, and demoralization and the improvement of connectedness produced by the mindfulness training.

 

Hence, psychedelic drugs enhance the effectiveness of mindfulness training on burnout.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on the Contemplative Studies Blog  http://contemplative-studies.org

 

Study Summary

 

Lewis BR, Hendrick J, Byrne K, Odette M, Wu C, Garland EL. Psilocybin-Assisted Group Psychotherapy + Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Frontline Healthcare Provider COVID-19 Related Depression and Burnout: A Randomized Clinical Trial. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jan 1:2024.12.31.24319806. doi: 10.1101/2024.12.31.24319806. PMID: 39802794; PMCID: PMC11722457.

 

Abstract

Objective

This clinical trial sought to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin and MBSR for frontline healthcare providers with symptoms of depression and burnout related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled physicians and nurses with frontline clinical work during the COVID-19 pandemic and symptoms of depression and burnout. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either an 8-week MBSR curriculum alone or an 8-week MBSR curriculum plus group psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) with 25mg psilocybin. Symptoms of depression and burnout were assessed at baseline, and 2-weeks and 6-months post intervention utilizing the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (QIDS-SR-16) and Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Professionals (MBI-HSS-MP), respectively. Secondary outcome measures included the Demoralization Scale (DS-II) and the Watt’s Connectedness Scale (WCS). Adverse events and suicidality were assessed through 6-month follow-up.

Results

25 participants were enrolled and randomized. There were 12 study-related AEs recorded that were Grade 1-2 and no serious AEs. There was larger decrease in QIDS score for the MBSR+PAP arm compared to MBSR-only from baseline to 2-weeks post-intervention and significant between-group differences favoring MBSR+PAP on subscales of the MBI-HSS-MP as well as the DS-II and WCS.

Conclusions

Group psilocybin-assisted therapy plus MBSR was associated with clinically significant improvement in depressive symptoms without serious adverse events and with greater reduction in symptoms than MBSR alone. Study findings suggest that integrating psilocybin with mindfulness training may represent a promising treatment for depression and burnout among physicians and nurses.