Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Systematic Review of Its Impact on Cognitive Function and Brain Health

Abstract

Progressive decreases in cognitive ability and brain health linked to aging can greatly affect older persons’ quality of life and degree of freedom. Effective, easily available treatments are desperately needed to preserve cognitive ability and advance good brain aging as the world population ages. An ancient mind-body technique combining physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation, yoga has attracted interest as a possible tool for enhancing good aging. This systematic study seeks to fully assess, in older persons, the effects of yoga therapies on cognitive ability and brain health. Studies including yoga therapies on cognitive performance, brain shape, or brain activity in individuals sixty years of age or above were included. Involving 2,876 individuals, 32 RCTs in all satisfied the inclusion criteria. Following yoga therapies spanning 8 to 24 weeks, the examined studies repeatedly showed improvements in many cognitive areas, including attention, executive function, and memory. Positive changes in brain structure and function—including higher gray matter volume in areas linked to cognitive control and memory—were found by neuroimaging studies. Furthermore linked with lowered inflammation and oxidative stress indicators was yoga practice, implying possible neuroprotective properties. Although the general quality of the evidence was moderate, with several studies limited by small sample sizes and variation in yoga protocols, the combined results suggest the potential of yoga as a viable intervention for maintaining cognitive function and supporting brain health in older persons. Future studies should concentrate on maximizing yoga techniques for cognitive advantages, looking at long-term impacts, and researching fundamental neurobiological processes.