“The researchers found that doing some kind of exercise — whether it was low or high intensity — helped people experience their anxiety less after 12 weeks,” says Bradley Gaynes, MD, MPH, the division head of global mental health at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; he was not involved in the study. “These results add to the growing evidence that exercise can be an effective part of a treatment plan for people with anxiety symptoms,” he says.
Researchers Compared the Effects of Low Intensity Exercise, High Intensity Exercise, and No Exercise
A total of 223 adults participated in the study; 70 percent were women, and the average age for both genders was 39. The most common anxiety disorder was generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) followed by panic disorder (PD), and half the participants had lived with anxiety for more than 10 years. People taking medication for their anxiety were allowed in the study, though individuals with ongoing psychotherapy were not included. Anxiety was measured with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), which is used to evaluate anxiety symptoms. Respondents are asked to report about the presence or severity of 21 phenomena — symptoms such as heart pounding, feeling shaky, different types of fears or feelings, indigestion or abdominal discomfort, face flushing, and sweating. Depression was measured with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) which includes 10 questions on sadness, sleep, appetite, concentration, and negative thoughts. On average, the cardiorespiratory fitness level of the cohort was “considerably lower” than that of the general Swedish population. Likewise, the proportion of people with hazardous alcohol use was higher than the national average. The exercise sessions consisted of circuit training and lasted for one hour each, which included 10 minutes of warm-up and 5 minutes of cooldown. Participants cycled through 12 stations that included cardio moves such as burpees and jumping rope, as well as body-weight resistance training exercises, such as squats and pushups. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
A low-intensity exercise group who did the above workout three times a week for 12 weeks. This group exercised at a level that was intended to reach around 60 percent of their maximum heart rate.A group who did the same workout at a higher intensity, with the aim to attain 75 percent of maximum heart rateA control group who didn’t exercise
The levels of effort were regularly validated using the Borg scale, an established rating scale for perceived physical exertion, and confirmed with heart rate monitors.
The Mix of Cardio and Strength Training Reduced Anxiety Symptoms
Researchers found that a combination of cardio and strength training done for at least 45 to 60 minutes, three times or more per week, for at least three months offered the maximum benefit when it came to reducing anxiety symptoms. Most individuals in the treatment groups went from a baseline level of moderate to high anxiety to a low anxiety level after three months of working out, according to the authors. In the group that exercised at relatively low intensity, the chance of improvement in terms of anxiety symptoms rose by a factor of 3.62. In those who exercised at higher intensity, the chance of improvement was 4.88. “There was a significant intensity trend for improvement — that is, the more intensely they exercised, the more their anxiety symptoms improved,” said the study’s lead author, Malin Henriksson, a doctoral student at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and specialist in general medicine, in a university press release. “These results confirm what I’ve seen in my experience in treating people: Exercise can be a useful add-on to what people are already doing to manage their depression and anxiety. Some people find it to be quite helpful,” says Dr. Gaynes. “As far as interventions go, exercise is low-risk and low-cost, and the side effects are mostly good. There aren’t really any downsides to it,” he says.
