Military Operational Stress ReactionNCT05821270
Effects of Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga Supta on Portuguese Airforce Military Pilots Performance
A study testing Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta in people with Military Operational Stress Reaction, run by University of Évora at 1 site in Portugal.
Trial summary
A total of 18 military pilots in their tirocinium in the air force academy from the Portuguese Air Force course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist" participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to yoga (intervention group) or waiting list (control group). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 30 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Military Operational Stress Reaction
- What is being tested?
- Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 18 participants
- Where
- 1 sitePortugal
- Study dates
- 1 Mar 2021to 1 Sep 2023
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 30 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- healthy military pilots in their tirocinium in the air force academy from the Portuguese Air Force course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist
Who cannot join
- military pilots on active duty before or after the tirocinium;
- injured military pilots;
- military pilots on sudden lifestyle changes (as in: starting or quitting smoking habits; starting or quitting any kind of medication; starting a new diet)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
A total of 18 military pilots in their tirocinium in the air force academy from the Portuguese Air Force course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist" participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to yoga (intervention group) or waiting list (control group). Procedures were approved by the Évora University research ethics committee and participants will give written informed consent according to the Helsinki declaration (approval number: 21050).
Read the detailed description
A randomized, prospective, controlled trial was designed, with the participants (n=18) randomly distributed into two groups. The Control Group (n=8) will be receiving the protocolized classes from the course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist" for 12 weeks, the Intervention Group (n=10) will receive the same course and 2 sessions per week (1h each) of the yoga classes (4). The intensity of the program (Borg rating of perceived exertion scale) will be measured. The operative performance response measurements will be collected at baseline and post-intervention. Participants will complete the following emergency protocols in a flight simulator: (1) take-off engine failure, (2) flight engine failure close to the base, (3) flight engine failure far away from the base, and (4) alternator failure. This intervention protocol was accepted by the Portuguese Airforce to be applied on Airbase 11 in Beja.
- Conditions
- Military Operational Stress Reaction
- Being tested
- Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta
- Keywords
- yoga, airforce pilots, operational performance, military pilots
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga SuptaOther
Also called Yoga class
Ashtanga (asta - eight, anga - parts); Vinyasa (freely sequenced practice); Yoga (practice for evolution); Supta (closed eyes)
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Yoga | Experimental | Yoga practice: 12-week program of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta for 1h twice a week Receives: Other: Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta |
| Waiting list | No intervention | Only mandatory pilot trainig that everyone in the academy receives |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Changes in Operative performance
Flight times to complete tasks in the flight simulator and report from the flight simulator controler
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Changes in Stress and HRV
Heart rate variability measured with Polar H10 portable device
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Changes in Vestibular system control responses
Postural control responses through CoP displacement measured with a portable force platform Biosignals Plux with data sampled at 1000 Hz and electrode impedance below 5 kΩ. Preprocessing performed using the EEGLAB toolbox, which is available for use in MATLAB (The MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA). Data downsampled to 100 Hz.
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Secondary outcomes (5)
Changes in Body composition
Body composition data (percent body fat, percent fat free mass, percent muscle mass index, as a percentages) measured with a Tanita (MC-780 MA, Tanita, Tokyo, Japan) to get a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) will indicate if the exercise protocol had any impact in the pilot's physical makeup.
Percent body fat, percent fat-free mass, and percent muscle mass index are all related to body composition. Here's how they relate to each other: Percent body fat is the percentage of body weight that is made up of fat and includes both essential and storage fat; Percent fat-free mass is the percentage of body weight that is not fat and includes muscle, bone, organs, and other non-fat tissues; Percent muscle mass index is the percentage of body weight that is muscle. Percent body fat and percent fat-free mass are complementary measures that add up to 100%, while percent muscle mass index is a measure of the proportion of muscle in the body weight.
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Changes in Lung capacity
Ventilatory response measured with spirometry - FEV1/FVC ratio indicates how much air you can forcefully exhale
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Changes in cognitive habilities
FFMQ with 15 questions and average scores are calculated by summing the responses and dividing by the number of items, and indicate the average level of agreement with the each subscale (1 = rarely true, 5 = always true). Higher scores are indicative of someone who is more mindful in their everyday life.
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire - Changes in cognitive habilities
MAIA - is an 8-scale state-trait questionnaire with 32 items to measure multiple dimensions of interoception; scores are between 0 and 5, where higher score equates to more awareness of bodily sensation.
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Aviation Safety Attitude Scale - Changes in cognitive habilities
ASAS - consists of. 27 items on a five-point scale, each designed specifically to assess pilots' attitudes with respect to predict the hazardous event involvement of aviators; For all the attitude subscales, higher scores indicate a greater degree of that particular attitude - For example, higher scores on the ASAS self-confidence factor indicated that the person expressed greater confidence in their ability as a pilot
Measured: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Apr 2023
- Study start1 Mar 2021
- Primary completion1 Sep 2022
- Study completion1 Sep 2023 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Military Operational Stress ReactionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- 1 group randomly divided in: yoga intervention plus regular military training; and "waiting list" with only military training
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 18 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Évora
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Sara Alexandra Goncalves Santos, University of Évora
- Investigators
- Sara G Santos, Principal investigator, University of Évora
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05821270
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UEvora approval number: 21050
- Status last verified
- Apr 2023
- First submitted
- 8 Feb 2023
- Last updated
- 20 Apr 2023
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: IPD that underlie results in a publication
Publications
Santos S, Villafaina S, Parraca JA, Fernandes O, Melo F. The Impact of Yoga Practice on Health, Strength, and Respiratory Capacity in Portuguese Airforce Pilots: an Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Approach. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2026 Mar;51(1):91-104. doi: 10.1007/s10484-025-09719-9. Epub 2025 Jun 13.
PubMed 40512335Santos S, Melo F, Fernandes O, Parraca JA. The effect of Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga method on air force pilots' operational performance. Front Public Health. 2024 May 1;12:1334880. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1334880. eCollection 2024.
PubMed 38751579
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Apr 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effects of Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga Supta on Portuguese Airforce Military Pilots Performance
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05821270
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UEvora approval number: 21050
- Conditions
- Military Operational Stress Reaction
- Keywords
- yoga, airforce pilots, operational performance, military pilots
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 18 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of ÉvoraUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Mar 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Sep 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Sep 2023 (estimated)
- First posted
- 20 Apr 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
A total of 18 military pilots in their tirocinium in the air force academy from the Portuguese Air Force course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist" participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to yoga (intervention group) or waiting list (control group). Procedures were approved by the Évora University research ethics committee and participants will give written informed consent according to the Helsinki declaration (approval number: 21050).
Detailed description
A randomized, prospective, controlled trial was designed, with the participants (n=18) randomly distributed into two groups. The Control Group (n=8) will be receiving the protocolized classes from the course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist" for 12 weeks, the Intervention Group (n=10) will receive the same course and 2 sessions per week (1h each) of the yoga classes (4). The intensity of the program (Borg rating of perceived exertion scale) will be measured. The operative performance response measurements will be collected at baseline and post-intervention. Participants will complete the following emergency protocols in a flight simulator: (1) take-off engine failure, (2) flight engine failure close to the base, (3) flight engine failure far away from the base, and (4) alternator failure. This intervention protocol was accepted by the Portuguese Airforce to be applied on Airbase 11 in Beja.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- 1 group randomly divided in: yoga intervention plus regular military training; and "waiting list" with only military training
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Yoga | Experimental | Other: Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga SuptaYoga practice: 12-week program of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta for 1h twice a week |
| Waiting list | No intervention | –Only mandatory pilot trainig that everyone in the academy receives |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 30 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- healthy military pilots in their tirocinium in the air force academy from the Portuguese Air Force course "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- military pilots on active duty before or after the tirocinium;
- injured military pilots;
- military pilots on sudden lifestyle changes (as in: starting or quitting smoking habits; starting or quitting any kind of medication; starting a new diet)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga SuptaAlso: Yoga classAshtanga (asta - eight, anga - parts); Vinyasa (freely sequenced practice); Yoga (practice for evolution); Supta (closed eyes) | Other | Yoga |
Primary outcome
Changes in Operative performance
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Flight times to complete tasks in the flight simulator and report from the flight simulator controler
Changes in Stress and HRV
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Heart rate variability measured with Polar H10 portable device
Changes in Vestibular system control responses
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Postural control responses through CoP displacement measured with a portable force platform Biosignals Plux with data sampled at 1000 Hz and electrode impedance below 5 kΩ. Preprocessing performed using the EEGLAB toolbox, which is available for use in MATLAB (The MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA). Data downsampled to 100 Hz.
5 secondary outcomes
Changes in Body composition
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Changes in Lung capacity
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Changes in cognitive habilities
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire - Changes in cognitive habilities
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Aviation Safety Attitude Scale - Changes in cognitive habilities
Time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 20 Apr 2023.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 40512335Santos S, Villafaina S, Parraca JA, Fernandes O, Melo F. The Impact of Yoga Practice on Health, Strength, and Respiratory Capacity in Portuguese Airforce Pilots: an Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Approach. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2026 Mar;51(1):91-104. doi: 10.1007/s10484-025-09719-9. Epub 2025 Jun 13.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 38751579Santos S, Melo F, Fernandes O, Parraca JA. The effect of Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga method on air force pilots' operational performance. Front Public Health. 2024 May 1;12:1334880. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1334880. eCollection 2024.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. IPD that underlie results in a publication
Related trials for Military Operational Stress Reaction
Recruiting
Art Therapy and Emotional Well Being in Military Populations With Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms
PTSD, Military Activity
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Sara G Santos principal investigator
University of Évora
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta in people with Military Operational Stress Reaction, run by University of Évora at 1 site in Portugal.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Apr 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Portugal. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Changes in Operative performance (time frame: measured at 12 weeks (versus baseline values)). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05821270, which also lists 2 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Apr 2023.