Physical Exercise Ameliorates Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Quality in College Students: Experimental Evidence from Exercise Intensity and Frequency.

Chaoxin Ji,Lin Lin,Song Chen,Jun Yang

doi:10.3390/bs12030061

Abstract

Background: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise intensity and exercise frequency on anxiety, depression and sleep quality in college students. Methods: All participants came from a university in northeastern China. All participants were tested for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and were diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The research subjects were divided into six groups, namely the low-intensity and low-frequency group (group 1), low-intensity and moderate-frequency group (group 2), low-intensity and high-frequency group (group 3), high-intensity and low-frequency group (group 4), and high-intensity and moderate-frequency group (group 5) and high-intensity and high-frequency group (group 6). The duration of each physical exercise for each group was 1 h. Participants’ exercise intensity was monitored using Polar H10 HR sensors and the Borg RPE scale. The experiment was carried out for a total of 6 weeks. The researchers conducted pre- and post-test scores on the subjects’ anxiety, depression and sleep quality through questionnaires. Results: Exercise intensity improved anxiety and decreased symptoms of depression better than exercise frequency; sleep quality was more closely related to exercise intensity. Conclusion: Exercise intensity and exercise frequency have different effects on anxiety, depression and sleep quality improvement, indicating that exercise intensity and exercise frequency have different effects on anxiety, depression and sleep quality of college students.

Highlights

Anxiety is an irritable emotion caused by excessive worry about one’s safety, fate and future
The 6 weeks exercise intervention experiment showed that exercise can improve the anxiety, sleep quality and decrease symptoms of depression of college students
Exercise intensity will have an impact on anxiety, depression and sleep quality, while exercise frequency will have an impact on anxiety and depression, but has a limited impact on sleep quality

Summary

Introduction

Anxiety is an irritable emotion caused by excessive worry about one’s safety, fate and future. An online survey found that about 18.2% of college students in China suffer from anxiety symptoms, but most of them have mild anxiety symptoms [2]. It can be seen that the proportion of individuals with anxiety symptoms in college students is still relatively large. The occurrence of anxiety is related to many factors, but most studies believe that stress is an important factor causing anxiety, and patients with anxiety disorders are often accompanied by symptoms of insomnia. Some studies believe that anxiety and depression are highly comorbid [3,4], and patients with anxiety disorder often suffer from depression at the same time [5]. More and more studies have shown that physical exercise can effectively relieve anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms of patients with anxiety disorder [8]

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Discussion

Conclusion