Forced exercise can reduce anxiety and depression just as much as voluntary exercise does
Being forced to exercise can reduce anxiety and depression just as much as voluntary exercise does, according to new research.
It has long been known that people who take regular exercise are less likely to suffer from stress-related disorders.
However, feeling in control can also be beneficial for people’s mental health.
So, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder, in the U.S., wanted to establish whether a person who feels forced to exercise, eliminating the sense of control, would still reap the anxiety-fighting benefits of the exercise.
Dr Benjamin Greenwood, an assistant research professor at the university explained that people who feel forced to exercise include school students, professional athletes and members of the military.
He said: ‘If exercise is forced, will it still produce mental health benefits?
‘It's obvious that forced exercise will still produce peripheral physiological benefits. But will it produce benefits to anxiety and depression?’
Dr Greenwood and his team decided to try and answer this question by studying lab rats.
During a six week period they followed two groups of rats – one group that remained sedentary, and another that exercised by running on a wheel.
The rats that exercised were divided into two groups - one group ran whenever it chose to, while the other group ran on mechanized wheels that rotated according to a predetermined schedule.
After six weeks, the rats were exposed to a laboratory stressor before having their anxiety levels tested.
It has long been known that people who take regular exercise are less likely to suffer from stress-related disorders
The anxiety was quantified by measuring how long the rats froze for, a phenomenon similar to a deer in the headlights, when they were put in an environment they had been conditioned to fear.
The longer the freezing time, the greater the residual anxiety from being stressed.
‘Regardless of whether the rats chose to run or were forced to run, they were protected against stress and anxiety,’ said Dr Greenwood.
‘The sedentary rats froze for longer periods of time than any of the active rats.
‘The implications are that humans who perceive exercise as being forced — perhaps including those who feel like they have to exercise for health reasons — are maybe still going to get the benefits in terms of reducing anxiety and depression,’ he said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2315291/Being-forced-exercise-reduce-anxiety-depression.html#ixzz2RtFg36Vt
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