Physical activity and stress by Britt

Can physical activity reduce stress?

Stress is a natural physiological response but some circumstances can make dealing with stress more difficult, particularly if they're ongoing (multiple lockdowns 🙄). Ongoing stress or multiple daily stressors related to modern lifestyle can mean that it is hard to get away from stress.

🌻Physical activity provides an escape or coping mechanism for stress, social interaction and can improve the body's response to stress hormones. Stress is highly prevalent and self help techniques like exercise are recommended to reduce stress.

Lee et al., 2019 found that more sedentary time was related to increased stress levels in students.

Yoga has been found to relieve stress when used in PE and practice can be continued at home (Centeio et al., 2017).

🌻Team sport is related to social and psychological health due to the fun, motivation and cohesion!

Exercise or physical activity can help to reduce the physical and mental health consequences of stress.

🌻Outdoor physical activity, particularly in green space is related to reduced stress and improved mental health but there really are many ways to move that can help to reduce stress.

🌻Aerobic exercise is reported to reduce work related stress with 3 x aerobic exercise sessions per week. This could be exercise like running, cycling, swimming, exercise classes, dancing or walking.

Athletes of course have other considerations like high training demands and recovering from injury. Having team mates or coaching/sports science team support can be helpful to provide support for stress or talking about other coping mechanisms.