Study Reveals 45 Days of Yoga Improves Mood, Sleep and Brain Connectivity in Healthy Adults

Could practicing yoga for just 45 days improve mood, sleep and the way different regions of the brain communicate? A new Indian study suggests that a standardised yoga routine combining physical postures, breathing exercises, relaxation and meditation may improve emotional well-being and certain aspects of memory while influencing brain connectivity.

Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the randomised controlled trial was conducted by researchers from Dr D Y Patil Vidyapeeth, Savitribai Phule Pune University, the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, and HealthCare Global Enterprises.

Researchers recruited 139 healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years and randomly assigned them to either a yoga intervention group or a control group.

Participants in the yoga group followed the Common Yoga Protocol for 45 days, with approximately 50-minute sessions incorporating yoga postures, breathing practices, guided relaxation and meditation.

The researchers assessed mood, sleep quality, processing speed and short-term memory before and after the intervention. A subgroup also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain connectivity.

The findings revealed that participants practicing yoga experienced improvements in positive mood, with scores approximately four points higher than those in the control group.

Importantly, negative mood scores were around 3.5 points lower, while sleep quality scores improved by approximately 1.2 points compared with controls.

Researchers also observed improvements in selected short-term verbal memory measures, although processing speed and some other memory outcomes showed no significant differences.

Brain scans from 43 participants revealed changes in functional connectivity across networks associated with movement, attention, language and coordination.

These changes suggested that regular yoga practice may influence communication between different brain regions.

However, researchers cautioned that altered brain connectivity does not necessarily indicate improved brain efficiency or overall cognitive performance.

The findings suggest that regular yoga may support emotional well-being, sleep and selected cognitive functions, although larger, longer-term trials are needed to confirm these benefits.

REFERENCE: Chaturvedi, S., Rao, P., Rao, R., Rohatgi, S., Rachalwar, V., Shejwal, B., Vadiraja, H. S., & Patwardhan, B. (2026). Common yoga protocol improves cognitive functions and neural connectivity: A randomized controlled fMRI study in healthy adults. Scientific Reports, 16(1), Article 36893. DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-76430-y