Yoga and perceived stress, self-compassion, and quality of life in undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND: Student nurses' experience of stress while enrolled in educational programs is well-documented; however, complementary and alternative therapies to alleviate or prevent nursing program-related stressors are not. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a yoga intervention on stress, self-compassion, and quality of life in undergraduate nursing students. METHODS: Seventy-three undergraduate nursing students participated in this two-group, quasi-experimental, repeated-measures, study. Students self-selected participation in a one-hour yoga class, offered each week for 12 weeks, and completed Stress, Self-Compassion, and QOL scales at baseline, week 6, and week 12. Information on intervention participation and yoga practice outside the intervention was also solicited. Descriptive statistics and mixed-model analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between groups over time on perceived stress or QOL. There were statistically significant differences between groups on self-kindness (F3, 69 = 3.86, P = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Further research on the effects of yoga for stress reduction in nursing students using randomized controlled trials is recommended.