1 1380 115 IMPACT OF LONG TERM YOGA PRACTICE ON SLEEP QUALITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE ELDERLY. BACKGROUND: SLEEP DISTURBANCES AND DECLINE IN THE PHYSICAL FUNCTIONALITY ARE COMMON CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH AGING. PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF SLEEP DISTURBANCES CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS. SHORT TERM TRIALS OF YOGA ON SLEEP HAVE SHOWN BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF LONG-TERM YOGA EXERCISES ON SLEEP QUALITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN THE ELDERLY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS WAS A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN WHICH DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM ELDERLY PEOPLE AGED 60 YEARS OR MORE LIVING IN NAGPUR CITY. WE EMPLOYED TWO TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES: PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) AND QOL LEIDEN-PADUA (LEIPAD) QUESTIONNAIRE. A TOTAL OF 65 ELDERLY MEN AND WOMEN WHO SIGNED AN INFORMED CONSENT AND COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. SLEEP QUALITY SCORE PSQI AND QOL (LEIPAD QUESTIONNAIRE) SCORE OF THE STUDY GROUP WERE EVALUATED AND COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP USING MANN-WHITNEY U TEST. RESULTS: TOTAL PSQI SCORE IN YOGA GROUP WAS LOWER THAN THAT OF THE CONTROL GROUP. ALSO VARIOUS QOL SCORES OF THE YOGA GROUPS WERE HIGHER THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: ADDITION OF REGULAR YOGA EXERCISES IN THE DAILY ROUTINE OF ELDERLY PEOPLE CAN HELP TO ACHIEVE GOOD SLEEP QUALITY AS WELL AS IMPROVE THE QOL. 2013 2 1939 46 ROLE OF YOGA THERAPY IN IMPROVING DIGESTIVE HEALTH AND QUALITY OF SLEEP IN AN ELDERLY POPULATION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: CONSTIPATION AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES COMMONLY AFFECT ELDERLY POPULATION RESULTS IN COMPROMISED PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS LIKE YOGA NOT ONLY ADDRESS THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BUT ALSO PROMOTE HEALTHY AGEING. THIS STUDY EVALUATES THE EFFECT OF 3 MONTHS YOGA INTERVENTION ON THE SLEEP AND CONSTIPATION RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AMONG THE ELDERLY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NINETY SIX PARTICIPANTS AGED BETWEEN 60 AND 75 WHO DID NOT HAD ANY HISTORY OF YOGA PRACTICE FOR PAST 1 YEAR AND HAVING A ZUBROD SCORE OF 0-2 WERE RANDOMIZED IN TO YOGA (N = 48) OR WAITLISTED CONTROL (N = 48). THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED YOGA INTERVENTIONS AT A FREQUENCY OF 3 SESSIONS PER WEEK FOR 3 MONTHS. PITTSBURG SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) AND PATIENT ASSESSMENT OF CONSTIPATION QOL (PAC-QOL) WERE USED TO ASSESS THE IMPROVEMENT. INTENTION TO TREAT ANALYSIS METHOD WAS USED TO INCLUDE THE DROP-OUT PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: EIGHTY ONE PARTICIPANTS (YOGA = 48, WAITLISTED CONTROL = 33) COMPLETED THE STUDY. WILCOXON'S SIGN RANK TEST HAS SHOWN THAT THE YOGA GROUP HAD STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN MOST OF THE PARAMETERS IN PSQI AND PAC-QOL (P