Sport is health ! But it is also a means of protecting oneself from the deleterious effects of stressaccording to the results of a study published in the medical journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Indeed, sports people display fewer risk factors for cardiovascular illnesses often caused by stress.
Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland and the University of Sahlgrenska in Gothenburg in Sweden conducted a study with 200 employees aged 39 on average.
Scientists measured various known cardiovascular risk factors, such as arterial pressureI’body mass indexthe rate of cholesterol and triglycerides. Participants were then asked to provide information about their current perception of stress.
Sport protects against stress
The researchers demonstrated for the first time a relationship between the subjective perception of stress, cardiovascular risks and sport. Indeed, among stressed employees, they found large differences in particular between individuals who had low, high or high physical activity.
For example, when the levels of stress are high, bad cholesterol values exceeded the limit for employees with a low fitness level. While athletic individuals have been protected. On the other hand, when exposure to stress was low, the differences are much less marked between the different categories of people.
“These results are important because it is precisely when people are stressed that they tend not to engage in physical activity,” explains Professor Markus Gerber from the University of Basel. Health professionals should stimulate their stressed patients to exercise. “This study has direct implications for the therapy and treatment of stress-related disorders,” concludes the researcher.
Read also:
Effective art therapy to reduce stress
Stress and diet, what is it really?
Anti-stress day menu
