The positive impact of physical activity on the reduction of anxiety scores: a pilot study

Abstract

SUMMARY OBJECTIVES: To compare anxiety scores between physical activity practitioners and sedentary, men and women and to relate them to physical activity frequency and age. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 256 regular aerobic physical activity practitioners was compared to a sample of 256 sedentary individuals (control group). Anxiety scores were quantified by Anxiety Inventory Spielberger State-Trait (STAI). The scores of the groups were compared using the Student t-test and chi-square test for parametric and non-parametric data, respectively. The correlation between scores of different variables was performed using the Pearson test. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the average anxiety scores (p <0.001) and the chi-square test proved there is a higher prevalence of severe anxiety (p <0.001) in the sedentary group. Age did not correlate with worse anxiety scores (p <0.05). Comparing by gender, women had a higher prevalence of intense anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals who engage in regular physical activity have lower levels of anxiety, and both sexes are benefited with the anxiolytic potential of physical activity. Therefore, this study proved that the Roman poet Juvenal was right, and his expression “Mens sana in corpore sano,” could also be interpreted in the opposite direction, i.e., a healthy body correlates with a healthy mind.

Eating Behavior of Brazilian College Students: Influences of Lifestyle, Negative Affectivity, and Personal Characteristics

“…Sex, age, weight status and economic stratum were also relevant for the assessment of eating behavior. Our finding of a positive impact of the physical component of lifestyle on negative affectivity is inconsistent with prior research suggesting that negative affectivity is associated with less healthy lifestyles (Alves et al, 2019;Badger et al, 2019). These results may be explained by the these participants' past motivations (Pelletier et al, 2004;Ryan et al, 1997) and beliefs (Alvarenga & Koritar, 2019;Coveney & Bunton, 2003;Jallinoja et al, 2010), since Pelletier et al (2004) noted that extrinsic motivations can compromise the maintenance of behavior in the long term as the motives for the behavior then come from external sources that are not inherent to the individual.…”

Combinations of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep and their associations with cardiovascular risk

“…This association is due to the in uence of SB on melatonin suppression, especially due to prolonged exposure to screens and blue light, which stimulate psychophysiological arousal, causing an imbalance in internal biological rhythms impairing sleep quality [51,52]. While SB shows a negative association with sleep quality, regular PA practice seems to have positive effects on sleep, since it helps to improve sleep time and quality, through its effects on different systems, including the metabolic, endocrine, vascular and immune systems, as well as aspects related to mood and circadian rhythm [53][54][55]. In terms of physiological mechanisms, PA is associated with changes in neuroendocrine systems, such as the release of endorphins and the regulation of cortisol, which can positively in uence sleep architecture [56][57][58].…”

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Brazilian Pregnant Women at the Beginning of the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

“…The results are evaluated by calculating the sum of the points (maximum of 80 points) according to the criteria established by the author. The severity classification ranges from mild to moderate (20-49 points) to severe (≥50 points) [20].…”