Yoga may help cancer survivors sleep better (Image AI Generated)
While fighting cancer is physically difficult, it can also be a mental health burden. Anxiety, poor sleep, fatigue and emotional distress are among the most common problems experienced by people during and after cancer treatment. Yoga may be a simple, non-pharmaceutical approach to alleviate many of the symptoms, according to a new study done by Dr. Nalini Singh and his colleagues.
They discovered a reduction in anxiety, improvement of sleep quality, decrease in fatigue and improvement in overall mood in cancer patients who practiced yoga regularly. Yoga does not cure cancer, but it can be a helpful complementary therapy to enhance one's quality of life, experts say.
The results were discussed at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2026. A total of 410 cancer survivors from 12 oncology centers in the US participated in the randomized clinical trial, with the majority being breast cancer survivors.
There were two groups of participants. The Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) program consisted of 4 weeks of group sessions. The standard survivorship care group was compared with the Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) group. The program included gentle hatha yoga, restorative yoga, breathing exercises, mindfulness and relaxation techniques. There were two 75 minute sessions per week, with participants doing sessions at home as well.
After the study, there was a significant change within the yoga practitioner group towards improvements in the following:
Yoga had a positive effect on multiple symptoms simultaneously, without introducing any additional medicine to the treatment regimen of patients, researchers found.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that long-term sleep issues are common for cancer survivors, stemming from treatment side effects, pain, emotional stress and changes in lifestyle. Lack of sleep may contribute to fatigue, depressed immune function and a diminished quality of life.
Due to yoga's ability to enhance sleep and physical functioning, an ongoing clinical trial in cancer survivors sponsored by the NCI is examining using yoga as a treatment for insomnia (Phase III).
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) under the categories of the National Institutes of Health, Yoga can benefit sleep, decrease anxiety, increase wellbeing and body awareness in many. There is a need for further studies specifically with various cancer groups; yoga is generally safe and can be used as a complementary therapy among most patients if safely administered.
The yoga experts suggest to pursue for beginner level yoga courses or cancer-specific yoga classes with a trained yoga teacher.
Yoga with a "structure" to it may offer a useful nonpharmaceutical alternative for coping with some of the most common side effects that persist following breast cancer treatment, such as sleep disturbances, fatigue and anxiety, says the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
NHI and NCCIH also believe that yoga is a practice of complementary health which can help with stress management, sleep and mental health; and it can complement standard medical care, but not replace cancer treatment.
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