Does Yoga Improve Book Smarts and Academic Performance?

Yoga may have additional benefits that move beyond general health and into improved educational outcomes. According to new research in the journal Evidence-based Complementary & Alternative Medicine Yoga may improve cognitive function and mood of students. If your hitting the books hard you might want to engage in some yoga activities to improve performance. 

An analysis of nine studies found an effect size  for mood indicators, tension and anxiety, self-esteem, and memory. This doesn't mean it improved functioning in all cases but that there is some indication that students performance will increase based on their yoga practice. The results didn't make any determination on the type of yoga that was most helpful. 

Even though the study was geared toward children the benefits are likely to be applied to adults as well. Particularly, adult students suffer from anxiety, poor cognition, mood changes, and other ailments that impact their performance. The more balanced the personality becomes the more likely improvements will be seen in performance. 

Emotional intelligence is an important indicator of success in nearly all fields. If yoga helps in the improvement of focus and emotions then it is bound to have some improvement on educational performance. Persistence in practice and the ability to focus on school work can influence the overall academic performance. Engaging in regular yoga practice might just make you a little smarter. 

Ferreira-Vorkapic, C., et. al. (2015) Are There Benefits from Teaching Yoga at Schools? A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials of Yoga-Based Interventions. Evidence-based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 17