“There was a gradual decline in stress-related signals”
Exercise is well known to be good for your mental health and heart health, and now new research shows all three work together . According to the study, in addition to the physical benefits of exercise, it is also associated with reduced stress signals in the brain, which leads to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
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Researchers analyzed data from more than 50,000 adults aged about 60 from the Mass General Brigham Biobank, according to study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
According to CNN, the study analyzed data from a survey of participants about their physical activity, imaging of their brains to track stress-related activity, and digital recordings of cardiovascular events.
“In people who are more exercise, there was a gradual decrease in stress-related brain signals,” said lead study author Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
“We found a positive association that exercise appears to reduce the risk of heart disease in part by reducing stress-related signals,” he added.
According to Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of in Heart Disease Prevention and Wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, everyone should pay attention to the research that shows improvement with lifestyle changes. Freeman did not take part in this study, CNN notes.
“They are incredibly cost effective and the scale of improvement is amazing— they are often better than many drugs, — and we need to include these tools in our arsenal for ready use,” he said.
Tavakol and his team also wanted to see if people with more stress-related brain signals would get , great benefits from exercise.
“Surprisingly, we also found a more than two-fold increase in the benefits of exercise among people with depression compared with people without or without a history of depression,” Tavakol said.
He added that the relationship between the amount of exercise and reduction in cardiovascular risk also varied depending on whether the person had a history of depression.
In people without a history of depression, the effect of exercise in reducing cardiovascular disease peaked after about 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. But for people with depression, the effect persisted as time spent with them increased, Tavakol said.
These benefits complement the psychological benefits that researchers already know exercise provides, he added.
These benefits are in addition to the psychological benefits that researchers already know exercise provides, he added. p>
“We know that depression is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is also one of the most common stress-related conditions,” said study co-author Dr. Carmel Choi, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. – Although some people may be more susceptible to stress and its health effects, we find that exercise can also benefit them more and reduce their stress levels. Which is encouraging.
According to Tavakol, exercise reduces stress signals and strengthens signals from the prefrontal cortex.
“Both are attractive changes in the brain,” he said.
The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for executive functions, that is, the cognitive processes that control behavior, Tavakol explains.
And stress signals in the brain are associated with things like inflammation, increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, increased blood pressure and diseases that lead to thickening or hardening of the arteries, he added.
According to Dr. Tavakola, exercise, in particular, reduces the risk of heart disease by reducing stress signals.
However, these results are just associations. Because the researchers observed participants rather than conducting a randomized control trial, they can't say with certainty what exercise caused the weight loss or what mechanisms underlie it, he said.
According to Freeman, you don't have to be a professional athlete to do good exercise, and this can help you get ahead in that direction.
“It turns out that humans were designed to move, and when we do, do, especially when we're outside and among trees, there is evidence that all of this has a very significant effect on stress relief.
Freeman recommends first consulting with a doctor and trying to get at least as much physical activity as possible. 30 minutes a day, regardless of what kind of activity it is.
“If you don't like walking, biking, swimming or anything else, don't do it. But find a way to do exercise that you actually enjoy,” he said.
“Just make sure it's challenging no matter what your fitness level is,” Freeman added. “If you can speak in full sentences during a workout, it might be time to make it harder,” he said.
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