Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to measure the effect of a 12-week treatment with a physical activity-based therapy for Anxiety Disorders (AD) in children and adolescent, i.e. Autoregulation by Adventure Activity Therapy (AAA-T) on symptoms of anxiety and nocturnal heart rate (HR). METHODS: Subjects included in this study were aged from 8yrs to 17yrs (26M, 14F, mean age 13.02 ± SD 2.73), free from tachycardia (>100 bpm) and reporting a total time in bed between 6 and 10 hours. All subjects had a primary diagnosis of AD using DSM-IV criterias and were referred to AAA-T by a pedopsychiatrist. Pre and post tests included a psychiatric interview using the Global Assessment of Function (GAF) scale, a sleep questionnaire and HR monitoring. AAA-T, in group format, was given through 12 weekly sessions of two hours each. Nocturnal HR was recorded from lights out to lights on, using an ambulatory monitor (Polar, S810i) for three consecutive nights before and after AAA-T. RESULTS: GAF scale improved with treatment. Mean nocturnal HR decreased significantly from pre to post treatment levels (78bpm ± SD 9.04 vs. 72bpm ± SD 6.11, p=0.002). Results from the sleep questionnaire showed that most patients (87%) reported fatigue and exhaustion in the morning before therapy and were less likely to report it after treatment (31%). Energy level following the morning awakening increased in all patients following treatment. CONCLUSIONS: AAA-T, which included physiological Autoregulation as well as parental modeling and coaching, significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety, increased sleep quality and decreased nocturnal HR. These results show a promising efficacy profile of AAA-T with regards to the physiological dimension of AD in children and adolescents. Deep breathing associated with the Autoregulation process may explain parts of the significant nocturnal HR decrease. More research is needed to better understand the cardiovascular dimension in AD.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
