Abstract
AbstractBackgroundThe biological response (heart‐rate variability; HRV) to an acute psychological stressor, as well as cognitive changes in anxiety and coping style following tai chi (TC) in healthy male college students, has not been investigated in the literature.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of TC on: (1) HRV biomarkers of acute psychological stress, (2) state anxiety, and (3) coping style in healthy male college students.MethodsThe study was an RCT, in which the experimental group (n=9) received TC (twice a week for 8 weeks) and the control (C) group (n=11) did not receive treatment. Reactions to an acute psychological stressor were measured by the HRV's standard deviation of normal to normal intervals (SDNN), and Spielberger's State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Four ‘trials’ (baseline; stressor; recovery 1 and recovery 2) were conducted, with pre‐tests/post‐tests performed for both study groups. The Problem‐Focused Styles of Coping (PFSOC) questionnaire was used to examine coping styles pre‐test/post‐test for both groups.ResultsSignificant differences were found: (1) for group, test, and trial, the interaction of trial by group, and the interaction of test by trial for SDNN, P<0.05; (2) for test, trial, and the interaction of test by group for STAI (P<0.05); and (3) for the interaction of group and test for the suppressive coping style (P<0.05).ConclusionsTai chi affects biological reactions to an acute psychological stressor, perceptions of anxiety to an acute stressor and coping styles in healthy male college students.
Highlights
The integrated action of adaptive biological and psychological responses promote successful coping, and physical activity is a positive way to improve health and reduce stress
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a physical activity, tai chi (TC), on: (a) a biological marker of acute psychological stress, (b) perceived anxiety or state anxiety when exposed to an acute psychological stressor, and (c) coping style
What we find interesting is examining the difference between groups for State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Standard Deviation of Normal to Normal interval (SDNN) in light of their heart rate (HR) response to a stressor
Summary
The integrated action of adaptive biological and psychological responses promote successful coping, and physical activity is a positive way to improve health and reduce stress. This time domain variable of HRV is referred to as the Standard Deviation of Normal to Normal interval (SDNN); mathematically, it represents the square root of variance, with SDNN reflecting all the cyclic components responsible for variability in the period of recording It is a common biological measure of the stress response, the adaptive changes in HRV following TC were of special interest to the researchers.[5] Numerous studies have investigated the effect of TC on improvements in health in the elderly and other disease populations, but few studies have looked at the impact of TC on young male college students.[6] the biological response (via HRV) to an acute stressor and cognitive changes in anxiety and coping skills following TC has not been examined. The biological response (heart-rate variability; HRV) to an acute psychological stressor, as well as cognitive changes in anxiety and coping style following tai chi (TC) in healthy male college students, has not been investigated in the literature
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