Inculcation of Yoga as a Self-care Practice for Improving Mental Health among Healthcare Professionals in a Hospital Setting: Addressing through Metacognition
Abstract
Factually speaking, most healthcare professionals suffer from stress
burnout. Burnout is a state wherein one experiences work stress, which
along with a heavy workload, leads to poor metacognition and mental
health. Yoga acts as a well-known mind-body intervention which touches
a deeper layer of the mind and purifies thoughts and emotions that
may lead to better health. This article suggests evidence-based yoga
practices which can be self-administered to improve metacognition and
mental health. The detailed instructions regarding yoga practices can
be referred to using resources mentioned in the article. Yoga exercises
can be performed quite easily at the desk during breaks, session gaps,
and brief time gaps. Though healthcare professionals can perform yoga
exercises during office breaks at the workplace in a chair, the article
recommends that they should practice yoga exercises in their homes
on yoga mats. These practices will keep them fresh, aware, happy,
energised and revitalised throughout the day as these practices result
in the release of endorphins i.e., feel-good chemicals in the human
brain. Yoga practice also improves metacognition, creating a coping
ability to fight against work stress. Based on the findings, the article
suggests inculcating yoga as a self-care practice for improving mental
health among healthcare professionals in clinical settings.
How to cite this article:
Kumar N, Singh U. Inculcation of Yoga as a Selfcare
Practice for Improving Mental Health among
Healthcare Professionals in a Hospital Setting:
Addressing through Metacognition. Chettinad
Health City Med J. 2023;12(4):103-109.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2278.2044.202379
References
Ciezar-Andersen SD, Hayden KA, King-Shier KM. A systematic review of yoga interventions for helping health professionals and students. Complement Ther Med. 2021;58:102704. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Capobianco L, Faija C, Husain Z, Wells A. Metacognitive beliefs and their relationship with anxiety and depression in physical illnesses: a systematic review. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0238457. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Weight K, Bond JB. Metacognition as a mental health support strategy for students with anxiety. J Educ. 2022;202(4):452-62. [Google Scholar]
Flavell JH. Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: a new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. Am Psychol. 1979;34(10):906-11. [Google Scholar]
Sullivan WF, Heng J. Promoting mental health. Natl Cathol Bioeth Q. 2016;16(4):663-76. [Google Scholar]
Segal DL. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR). In: The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc; 2010. [Google Scholar]
Kumar N, Singh U. Yoga for improving mood and cognitive functions–a brief review. Yoga Mimamsa. 2021;53(1):39-45. [Google Scholar]
Cocchiara RA, Peruzzo M, Mannocci A, Ottolenghi L, Villari P, Polimeni A, Guerra F, Torre L. The use of yoga to manage stress and burnout in healthcare workers: a systematic review. J Clin Med. 2019;8(3):284. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Iskander M. Burnout, cognitive overload, and metacognition in medicine. Med Sci Educ. 2018;29(1):325-8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
American Psychological Association [Internet]. Stress a major health problem in the U.S., warns APA; 2007 [cited 2019 Aug 30]. Available from: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/10/stress
