Effects of Yoga and Units of Study on Immune Function

Effects of Yoga and Units of Study on Immune Function

University of Southern California

Author Note

This research report summarizes a semester-length student assignment in a Research Methods course. The report depicts a purely hypothetical investigation by the author that was not actually conducted. The instructor for the course, William Breland, Ph.D, has simulated the data without regard for any particular student’s hypothesis. Therefore, the results should not be thought to characterize a true test of the theoretical relationships expressed by the author. Furthermore, the 3x2 factorial design that is found in the report is a constraint that has been imposed on the author by the instructor – the design is not necessarily one that the student would propose of her/his own volition.

Abstract

This experiment examined the effect of yoga and college course load (i.e., units of study) on immune function (i.e., sIgA levels and cumulative sick days during the semester). Participants (N= 300) were categorized into two quasi-independent variable groups, 150 enrolled in 12 units of study and 150 enrolled in 18 units of study.  They were then randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions in which the type of yoga they practiced was manipulated: high yoga level (i.e. Yantra Yoga, which is a meditative form of yoga), moderate yoga level (i.e., Vinyasa Flow Yoga, which is a non-meditative form of yoga), or low yoga level (i.e., no yoga). All participants were measured for salivary IgA levels 3 weeks prior to the Fall semester and again during Finals week.  After the end of the Fall semester, participants reported how many cumulative sick days they had during the semester.  Strangely, higher levels of yoga and smaller course load were not indicative of higher sIgA levels.  Furthermore, moderate levels of yoga was shown to result in the highest sIgA levels and no yoga was shown to result in the fewest cumulative sick days.     

Introduction

This research paper will explore the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) – the study of the relationship between stress and immune function.  According to Fan et al., PNI examines the interactions among the central nervous system (CNS), endocrine and immune systems, and how behavior/stress can affect these interactions (Fan et al, 2008).  PNI is the study of how the mind and the body are connected in that one’s emotional of psychological (i.e., mind) status influences one’s physiological (i.e., body) status and vise versa, which manifests in changes in immune function.  According to Leary, the immune system is designed to identify and eliminate foreign material (i.e., pathogens) that contact or enter the body (O’Leary, 1990).  Lower immune function results in compromised health and higher incidences of illness.