Exercise Stress and Anxiety

Question 1

Define Stress

Answer 1

A state of physical/psychological challenge/imbalance

Question 2

Define a stressor

Answer 2

An external or internal stimulus causing challenge (acute, chronic or distant)

Question 3

Define the stress response

Answer 3

A psycho-physiological reaction that helps body/mind adapt and restores balance

Question 4

What are the major life stressors for adults? Give a reference

Answer 4

-Breakups
-Deaths
-Moving
-Poverty
-Prejudice
-Poor Health
-Injury
(Surgeon General’s Report on Stress and Mental Health, 2000)

Question 5

What are the major stressors for students? Give a reference

Answer 5

-Change in sleeping/eating habits
-Holiday work
-New responsibilities
-Workload
-Finance
-Computers
-Poor grades
(Ross et al 1999)

Question 6

According to Cannon 1915, what is the fight or flight/stress response?

Answer 6

• Adaptive evolutionary response
• Raised heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, sweating, flushing, dry mouth, pupil dilation
• Hyper vigilance, narrowing focus, impulsivity
• Hyperactivity, habitual activity, aggression, sleep loss, withdrawal

Question 7

Explain the neural pathway that a stressor takes to result in the fight or flight response

Answer 7

Stressor activates the hypothalamus, which sympathetically stimulates the adrenal medulla, and the adrenal cortex to release stress hormones

Question 8

What are physical stress related illnesses?

Answer 8

• Immunodeficiency
• Diabetes/heart disease
• Cancer
• Infertility
• Osteoporosis

Question 9

What are psycho-behavioural stress related illnesses

Answer 9

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Eating Disorders
• Substance abuse/dependency
• Suicide

Question 10

What did Aldana et al 1996 find about the relationship between stress and physical activity?

Answer 10

Active adults report less moderate (78%) and high (62%) stress than inactive adults

Question 11

What did Roth and Holmes 1985 find about the relationship between aerobic fitness and stress?

Answer 11

Aerobic fitness mitigated the effects of stress upon stress related illness in college freshmen

Question 12

What did Crews and Landers 1987 find about the impact of fitness on the stress response?

Answer 12

Aerobic fitness reduces stress response to acute stressors

Question 13

what did Spalding et al 2004 find about training and the stress response?

Answer 13

Trained participants showed reduced stress during post exercise stress test and recovery. Moreso for aerobic fitness than weight training

Question 14

What is the cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis?

Answer 14

Training induces physical adaptations that generalise across domains. Augmented response to novel stressor results in quicker adaptation. Minimization of the stress response during common or chronic stress preserves cortisol

Question 15

Who proposed the cross-stressor response?

Answer 15

Selye 1950

Question 16

According to Gal and Lazarus, 1975, what psychological factors does training help to bolster in order to buffer stress?

Answer 16

• Greater autonomy and mastery
• Improved self perceptions
• Social Support
• Distraction

Question 17

What is the definition of Anxiety?

Answer 17

Emotional state of anticipation or apprehension about the future

Question 18

What is the symptomology of General Anxiety Disorder?

Answer 18

• Excessive worry for over 6 months
• Impaired social and vocational functioning
• Inability to control or cope with anxiety
• Presence of restlessness, fatigue, concentration, irritability, muscle tension, sleep problems
• No pre-existing medical conditions

Question 19

Apart from general anxiety disorder, what other types of anxiety disorders exist?

Answer 19

• Panic disorder
• Phobias
• Social anxiety disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• PTSD

Question 20

What are the traditional treatments for anxiety?

Answer 20

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Medications
• Alternative Treatments like lifestyle change

Question 21

What are the cons of cognitive behavioural therapy?

Answer 21

Expensive, long term, social stigma

Question 22

What are the cons of medications for treating anxiety?

Answer 22

-Expensive, long term, addiction, side-effects like sleep problems dizziness, nausea and depression

Question 23

What did Stephens 1988 find about the relationship between trait anxiety and lifestyle activity?

Answer 23

Active lifestyles had lower trait anxiety

Question 24

What did Petruzzello et al 1991 find about the effects of acute exercise on anxiety?

Answer 24

Acute exercise reduces state anxiety, effect greatest in moderate intensity aerobic exercise, (60-70%HRmax). Nonaerobic exercise increased anxiety slightly

Question 25

What did Bartholomew and Linder 1998 find about the impact of load intensity on anxiety? (hi/med/low)

Answer 25

High loads increase anxiety for 30 min, low loads decreased anxiety for 30 minutes. Back to pre-levels after 30 minutes. Same effect in both males and females

Question 26

Give three references substantiating the claim that exercise is an effective treatment for anxiety

Answer 26

Jayakody et al 2013
Stonerock et al 2015
Wegner et al 2014

Question 27

What did Broocks et al 1998 find about the effect of exercise on treating panic disorders compared to drugs?

Answer 27

Exercise effective for decreasing symptoms. Less effective than drugs.

Question 28

What did Martinsen 2007 find about the impact of walking, jogging, stretching and resistance training on anxiety disorders?

Answer 28

Fitness gains were associated with long term reduction in symptoms. Non aerobic exericse also effective. Low intensity exercise is better. Distraction and skill mastery as main mechanisms

Question 29

How has it been proposed that exercise alleviates clinical anxiety?

Answer 29

• Desensitization, reframing of symptoms
• Muscular relaxation, temperature change
• Enhanced competence, autonomy, mastery
• Social support
• Elevated levels of serotonin and GABA