A pilot study by researchers from NIMHANS has found that the integration of yoga and cognitive behavioural therapy (Y-CBT) is feasible and useful in reducing Internet addiction and psychological distress. June 21 is observed as International Yoga Day.
Aimed at exploring the clinical utility of yoga therapy in the management of Internet addiction, researchers from the Service for Healthy Use of Technology (SHUT) Clinic and the Department of Integrative Medicine at NIMHANS studied the impact of integrated Y-CBT in adolescents with severe Internet addiction from July to December, 2022.
“We found that it was feasible and useful to combine yoga with CBT in managing excessive Internet use. We took up four cases with severe Internet addiction including a 21-year medical student, who had an online betting addiction and put them on Y-CBT intervention. All of them reported a significant reduction in psychological distress and improvement in quality of sleep within two weeks of the intervention,” said Manoj Kumar Sharma, Professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, who also heads SHUT Clinic.
