Researchers analysed data from 16 previously published studies with a total of 922 participants who were randomly assigned to do resistance training or be inactive. Resistance workouts were associated with a reduction in anxiety symptoms regardless of whether or not participants had a mental health disorder, though the effect was more pronounced in healthy people who didn’t report any physical or psychological problems. “RET (resistance exercise training) significantly reduced anxiety in both healthy participants and those with a physical or mental illness, and the effect size of these reductions is comparable to that of frontline treatments such as medication and psychotherapy,” Gordon said by email. “Finally, since people with anxiety tend to have uncertainty about their future, they may obsessively worry and lack confidence,” Jaffin added. In the current analysis, people did resistance exercises on two to five days per week for an average of 11 weeks.

Source: bd News24 September 24, 2017 09:00 UTC