Anxiety is one of the most common disorders today, and finding ways to treat it simply and effectively is not easy. A study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has found that moderate or strenuous exercise can help relieve anxiety symptoms.
The research, which has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, has focused on analyzing the effects of 12 weeks of moderate or strenuous exercise in 286 patients with an average age of 39 and who had a diagnosis of anxiety, half of they had 10 years with this disorder.
The results after three months of training 60 minutes three times a week indicated that the majority of the participants went from having a moderate or high initial level of anxiety to a low level. Specifically, symptoms were significantly reduced even in those whose condition was chronic.
Exercise must exceed 60% of maximum heart rate
The activities carried out by the participants included cardiovascular training –aerobic exercise– and strength, added to a previous warm-up, and a subsequent cool-down and stretching. “There was a significant intensity trend towards improvement, that is, the more intensely they exercised, the more their anxiety symptoms improved,” says Malin Henriksson, first author of the research.
Participants in the moderate-exercise group had to reach about 60% of their maximum heart rate, a degree of exertion considered mild or moderate. In the group that trained more intensely, their goal was 75% of maximum heart rate, perceiving this effort as high.
The more intensely people with anxiety exercised, the more improvements in symptoms they experienced
Until now, treatments for anxiety are based on cognitive-behavioral therapies and psychotropic medications. However, these drugs usually cause side effects and do not always have good results for patients, and therapies, in general, have long waiting list periods.
With the results of this study, a possible way of treating anxiety through exercise is opened, which has no side effects and is easy to do. Therefore, the researchers believe that the prescription of this type of activity should be assessed to reduce the incidence of anxiety in the world population.
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