Effect of Yoga on Reaction Time, Working Memory and Attention in College Level Athletes.

Quick decision making or a quick response in sports requires a well-trained mind. The status of mind, how it responds before a gameand during the game, is a major determining outcome factor.    In order to train for cognitive performance,there are several computer-based training programs available. These programs are usually expensive and athletes,especially at college level, may not be able to afford these programs.    A very convenient and feasible mode forcognitive training is yoga. Yoga is an ancient and traditional exercise methodknown to improve health of individuals. Various meditation techniques,breathing techniques and postures are described in ancient yogic scriptures.    Significance of cognitive functions amongathletes is not studied thoroughly.  With this study we aim to find out whether the practiceof yoga; namely yogic postures, Surya-namaskar and pranayama help athletes to improvetheir reaction time, working memory and attention,which as a result will help enhance their performance in the game. Thecognitive function will be assessed based on the changes in reaction time of athletespre and post intervention.    56 subjects will be recruited for the study.They will be randomly selected, provided they meet the inclusion and exclusioncriteria. Flanker Test - Eriksen &Eriksen (1974) and N-back Task - Jaeggi et al (2010) will be used to determine the outcomes of the study.

Participants in the Yoga group will be given a30-minute program comprising of 3 rounds of Surya-namaskar(sun salutation), 5 minutes of Shavasana(supine resting position), 5 minutes of Swastikasana,13 minutes of Pranayama (whichincludes Anuloma viloma pranayama, Suryabedhana pranayama, Bhramari pranayama) and 5 minutes of So-ham meditation (17). Participantswill be encouraged to follow this program thrice a week for 4 weeks withoutmodifying any other daily routine.     The sessions will be conducted on alternatedays, early in the morning, preferably on empty stomach  Control group participants will follow theirnormal daily routine without any modification; they will be advised againstdoing Yoga until the end of study period.    Data will be entered in a master chart andchecked for normality using Shapiro Wilk test. Depending on the normality,parametric (paired and independent t test) or non-parametric (Whitney U testand Wilcoxon sign rank test) test will be used for analysis. Level ofsignificance will be set at 0.05.    Within and between groups comparison resultswill be used to comment about the effectiveness of yoga program on cognitivefunctioning in college level athletes.