Mangaluru: A 10-day programme combining yoga, naturopathy and dietary modification may bring measurable changes in the body’s autonomic regulation that remain detectable for up to nine months in people with hypertension, experts have said.
During a randomised controlled trial involving 262 people, researchers at the SDM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences in Ujire found that participants who underwent the integrated programme showed changes in heart-rate variability (HRV), a non-invasive measure used to assess the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.
The study, published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies was registered with the Clinical Trials Registry of India and supported by the Ministry of AYUSH.
What particularly drew the researchers’ attention was that some of the changes remained evident nine months after the intervention had ended.
“Hypertension is not merely a disorder of elevated blood pressure; it is also closely linked to how the autonomic nervous system regulates cardiovascular function,” said Dr Sujatha K J, Vice Principal, SDM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences.
When this regulatory system remains under stress, the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity can be affected.
“Heart-rate variability gives us a useful, non-invasive window into this regulation. The changes observed in this study suggest that an integrated approach involving yoga, naturopathy and dietary modification may support a healthier autonomic balance,” said Dr Sujatha.
The autonomic nervous system broadly consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. While the sympathetic system is associated with the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, the parasympathetic system supports “rest-and-digest” functions.
HRV measures variations in the time between successive heartbeats and can provide an indication of autonomic nervous system activity.
In the trial, patients in the intervention group recorded a significant increase in high-frequency HRV, along with reductions in low-frequency activity and the LF/HF ratio. The overall pattern suggested a shift towards greater parasympathetic or vagal activity.
The difference in the LF/HF ratio between the intervention and control groups remained statistically significant at the nine-month follow-up.
An important strength of this study is that it moves the conversation beyond subjective claims of feeling relaxed or less stressed and looks at what is happening physiologically, said Dr Geetha B Shetty, Professor and Dean, SDM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences.
“Heart-rate variability gives us a measurable window into autonomic regulation and allows these changes to be objectively assessed and followed over time. For integrative healthcare, this kind of instrument-based evidence is valuable because it helps us understand whether interventions such as yoga and naturopathy are influencing the body’s regulatory mechanisms in a measurable way,” said Dr Shetty.
The study enrolled 262 people with hypertension aged between 25 and 60 years. They were randomly assigned to an intervention group and a control group.
For 10 days, participants in the intervention group underwent supervised yoga and naturopathic therapies along with a DASH-based diet, while the control group continued with their usual prescription medication.
HRV was measured at the beginning of the study, immediately after the 10-day programme and again nine months later, allowing researchers to assess both the immediate response and whether changes persisted over time.
The nine-month follow-up was one of the notable aspects of the study as the active intervention lasted only 10 days, yet differences in autonomic measures were still observed months later, said Dr Sujatha.
“Hypertension management cannot be limited to lowering blood-pressure numbers alone. Cardiovascular health is closely linked to lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, sleep and stress, all of which can influence the body’s regulatory systems,” said Dr Ashwin V P, Assistant Professor, SDM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences.
“What makes this study interesting is that it examines autonomic regulation through an objective measure such as heart-rate variability. The findings suggest that an integrated approach combining yoga, dietary modification and naturopathic care could have a role as a complementary component of hypertension management. However, such interventions should be viewed alongside, and not as a replacement for appropriate medical treatment and regular blood-pressure monitoring,” he said.
The researchers said the findings also highlight the potential value of measuring physiological changes that may not be immediately apparent through conventional clinical parameters.
