Exercise your stress away

The increased levels of anxiety often evident in people with illnesses could be reduced by exercising regularly.
The stress that accompanies illness can have the effect of making people stop following their treatment plans, thereby causing them to deteriorate further.

A new study by researchers at the University of Georgia analysed the results of 40 previous randomised clinical trials which collectively contained data gathered from nearly 3,000 patients with assorted medical conditions (including multiple sclerosis, chronic pain from arthritis, heart conditions and cancer). Individuals who exercised regularly reported an average 20 per cent lower level of anxiety symptoms than non-exercisers.

Lead author Matthew Herring, a doctoral student in the department of kinesiology, said, ‘Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that physical activities such as walking or weight lifting may turn out to be the best medicine that physicians can prescribe to help their patients feel less anxious’.

Although the usefulness of exercise in alleviating symptoms of depression has been studied previously, its effect on anxiety symptoms has had less focus on it.

Study co-author Pat O'Connor, professor and co-director of the UGA Exercise Psychology Laboratory, said, ‘We found that exercise seems to work with just about everybody under most situations. Exercise even helps people who are not very anxious to begin with become more calm’.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine