You can’t run from your problems… or can you?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
You’re in a mad rush to the airport to make your flight! – Wheezing, sweaty, checking the time over and over. But you’re not even late: just ANXIOUS. How can we CHILLAX?
Malin Henrikkson and colleagues at University of Gothenburg in Sweden think they’ve got the rundown.
They recruited over two hundred patients who suffered from anxiety disorders. They were assigned to three groups. Strenuous exercise… moderate exercise OR… the couch potato control group. Mine. The exercising groups got their sweat on three times a week for three months. Then everyone filled out surveys about their symptoms.
Results? Almost SEVENTY percent of those who exercised had measurable improvement in their anxiety. The intensity of the workout didn’t matter!
The researchers believe this study supports the incorporation of exercise into treatment plans for anxiety patients.
Caution: side effects may include GORGEOUS ABS and STINKY SOCKS!
Reference:
Henriksson, M., Wall, A., Nyberg, J., Adiels, M., Lundin, K., Bergh, Y., Eggertsen, R., Danielsson, L., Kuhn, H. G., Westerlund, M., David Åberg, N., Waern, M., & Åberg, M. (2022). Effects of exercise on symptoms of anxiety in primary care patients: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 297, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.10.006