Examining Yoga's Effects on Smoking
Condition: Yoga; Waitlist
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The primary aim of this research study is to examine the effects of an 8-week yoga program on
      aspects related to nicotine dependence, stress, and coping during a smoking quit attempt.

      Guided by initial studies reporting on the effects of yoga on putative mediators of smoking
      relapse (i.e., cortisol, distress intolerance, withdrawal symptoms), the proposed experiment
      examines the effects of an 8-week yoga practice on nicotine withdrawal intensity by way of
      aiding withdrawal characteristics predictive of smoking relapse. The long-term objectives of
      the proposed line of research are to: (1) inform theoretical models of nicotine withdrawal,
      (2) guide the development of effective alternative interventions for smokers susceptible to
      relapse during the critical withdrawal period (i.e., smokers low in distress tolerance), and
      (3) to help guide behavioral strategies for treating substance addictions broadly.
    

Detailed description: 
      As the leading cause of preventable death in the US and a major cause for chronic
      disease/mortality worldwide, smoking represents a major public health issue in need of
      effective interventions to reduce its burden. The development of such strategies is best
      directed by basic research on the biobehavioral processes underlying smoking maintenance and
      relapse. A major predictor of cessation failure is nicotine withdrawal, especially among
      individuals low in distress tolerance (DT).

      Reducing nicotine withdrawal-related distress and relapse in low DT smokers may require the
      regulation of certain hormones involved in the hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPA-axis) (i.e.,
      the human stress response). Regular practice of yoga, a mindfulness-based form of physical
      activity, emerges as a promising strategy for regulating the HPA-axis, decreasing withdrawal
      symptoms, and increasing DT, thus promoting smoking cessation success.

      We will randomly assign 50 smokers (≥10 cigarettes daily) low in DT to either an 8-week yoga
      intervention [YOGA] or a waitlist control [WL] prior to undergoing a self-guided quit
      attempt. We hypothesize participants assigned to the yoga condition (relative to waitlist)
      will differ on various outcomes assessed throughout the intervention (e.g., quit status,
      negative affective states, stress, hormonal changes, withdrawal) and, quit day, and
      throughout the 2-week quit follow-up period.

      More specifically, we hypothesize that certain typical maladaptive, during-withdrawal changes
      may be attenuated through YOGA. We also hope to obtain initial effect sizes of the advantage
      of yoga compared to waitlist for point-prevalent abstinence at two weeks following an unaided
      quit attempt.
    

Intervention name(s): Yoga
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The yoga intervention will be an 8-week program involving two 60-minute sessions each week at a local studio with three locations in Austin. Participants will be instructed to take classes deemed within a moderate-to-vigorous intensity dose. Participants will also be encouraged both by the PI and yoga instructors to complete the entire 60 minutes of yoga, urged to do only what is comfortable and not push themselves beyond their physical limits.
Other intervention name(s): Hatha yoga; vinyasa yoga
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: yoga; exercise intervention; smoking; stress; mind-body; intervention