"Yoga does the body good and according to a new study it may ease the mind as well. Yoga has also become such a cultural phenomenon that it has become difficult for physicians and consumers httptopics.time.comconsumers to differentiate legitimate claims from hype researchers from Duke University Medical Center write in their study published http_Disorders_and_Psychosomatic_Research.fpsyt..abstract in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. In order to explore the widely held belief that practicing yoga can relieve mental stress httptopics.time.comstress the team reviewed more than  studies on the effect of yoga and mental health. Most individuals already know that yoga produces some kind of a calming effect. Individually people feel better after doing the physical exercise says lead study author Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy a professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Mentally people feel calmer sharper maybe more content. We thought its time to see if we could pull all the literature together  to see if theres enough evidence that the benefits individual people notice can be used to help people with mental illness. MORE Yoga Can Help Stroke Survivors Regain Their Balance httphealthland.time.comyogacanhelpstrokesurvivorsregaintheirbalance Their findings suggest that yoga does in fact have positive effects on mild depression httptopics.time.comdepression and sleep problems and it improves the symptoms of psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and ADHD among patients using medication. The researchers focused on  studies that recorded the effects of practicing yoga on mentalhealth issues ranging from depression schizophrenia ADHD sleep complaints and eating disorders to cognitive problems. They found positive effects of the mindandbody practice for all conditions with the exception of eating disorders and cognition. Those studies involved too few participants or produced conflicting results to draw any meaningful conclusions. Some of the studies included in the analysis even suggested that yoga might affect the body in ways similar to antidepressants and psychotherapy. For instance yoga may influence brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters boosting levels of feelgood agents like serotonin lower inflammation reduce oxidative stress and produce a healthier balance of lipids and growth factors  just as other forms of exercise do. MORE We Tried This Aerial Vinyasa or UpsideDown Yoga httphealthland.time.comwetriedthisaerialvinyasaorupsidedownyoga Embracing yoga as a complementary treatment for mental disorders is not uncommon. Yoga is a feature in many veterans centers throughout the country backed by research http_highlightsyoga.cfm funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Huffington Post reported http_n_.html that many troops use yoga as a form of treatment for PTSD for example with companies like Warriors at Ease httpwarriorsatease.com training instructors in yoga techniques specifically catered to those in the military. A study published httpajot.aotapress.netcontent.abstract earlier this month of  activeduty troops found daily yoga eased anxiety and improved sleep. The researchers say theres enough evidence to warrant a larger study on the effects of yoga on mental health and it should be considered as part of treatment for more disorders. Many millions of Americans are doing yoga and many millions of Americans have mental illnesses and are popping psychiatric pills daily. Despite all of this the vast majority of studies looking at the benefits of yoga are all small studies. We did not come across a single study where there was a coordinated effort done by some large agency to really conduct a large national study says Doraiswamy. MORE Does Yoga Really Drive People Wild with Desire httphealthland.time.comdoesyogareallydrivepeoplewildwithdesire But while the research is promising yoga likely wont be a panacea for mental illness. Nor should patients try to replace their medications with the practice. What we are saying is that we still need to do further largescale studies before we are ready to conclude that people with mental illnesses can turn to yoga as a firstline treatment says Doraiswamy. We are not saying throw away your Prozac and turn to yoga. Were saying it has the promise and potential. If a large national study were done it could turn out that yoga is just as good and may be a low cost alternative to people with unmet needs. In the meantime he says it doesnt hurt to add yoga to existing treatments so patients can take advantage of any potential benefits."