An hour of brisk walking or yoga can reduce anxiety: Professor Lucini, director of the School of Sports Medicine of the University of Milan, explains how this is possible
Maria Elena Perrero
07 July
Fighting stress and anxiety states with it sport: physical activity can become almost medicine thanks to its effect on autonomic nervous system. “First of all it is good to remember that it is stress it is not only psychological, but it is a condition that gives physical symptoms – clarifies a Official Active there professor Daniela Lucini, director of the Sports Medicine and Physical Exercise Service at the Auxological Institute of Milan and director of the School of Sports Medicine of the University of Milan -. Acute stress can cause tachycardia, shortness of breath, while chronic stress can lead to fatigue, night heartbeat, difficulty digesting, as well as lowering the immune system. All these symptoms are mediated by the immune, endocrine and autonomic nervous systems, which are the systems that make us live ”.
Sports against anxiety and stress: a question of the autonomic nervous system
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In particular, the system that among all is most linked to the symptomatology from stress, and on which it sport affects precisely by contrasting the states of anxiety, and the autonomic nervous system. “We therefore mean that part of the nervous system that controls the functioning of our organs such as the heart, stomach, intestine, lungs – explains Professor Lucini -. From a purely medical point of view, when an individual is in a condition, yes acute stress the autonomic nervous system is alerted, and consequently is more active. Hence the acute symptoms. The condition of is quite different chronic stress. If, for example, on the weekend, even though I don’t work and I don’t have any stressful reasons, I still feel agitated, tired, with my heart beating fast, without there being an immediate reason, this can worry more. But physical activity can have beneficial effects on both chronic and acute stress ”.
Because physical activity fights stress and anxiety
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The problem of stress is that it is a risk factor for many pathologies, including lethal ones, such asheart attack and arrhythmiasbut not only: “Stress is also a risk factor for more widespread functional diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome or gastroesophageal reflux, because it interferes with the autonomic, endocrine and immunological nervous systems. Stress, in other words, is the straw that breaks the camel’s back – says Professor Lucini clearly -. Exercise helps because it is able to positively interfere with these three control systems (immune, endocrine and autonomic). Also let’s not forget that sport releases endorphins, the so-called feel-good hormones, and interferes with the production of some hormones such as the cortisol, the stress hormone “.
the best physical activity against stress and anxiety
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But what is it sport best to counter it stress, its symptoms and the pathologies that can derive from it? “We know that physical activity can be about endurancein which the whole body is involved (as in running, walking, cycling, swimming), by stretching or lengthening (which relaxes the muscles) and of force, like the one that can be practiced in the gym, in weight lifting or with the use of machines – explains Professor Lucini -. In addition to the type of sport, the intensity with which it is practiced also counts. This affects how muscle cells produce energy: if so aerobic or anaerobic. In the first mode, the cell uses not only glucose and fatty acids, but also oxygen to produce energy. Aerobic activity is generally not maximal. In the latter case, the cardiorespiratory system cannot carry oxygen and other muscle fibers come into play that use only intracellular glycogen without using oxygen (anaerobic activity), allowing me to perform the activity to the maximum but to a short period. Answering the original question, the best stress reliever activity is to aerobic endurance “.
Running and yoga: different effects against stress
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If theaerobic physical endurance activity it is the most effective against stress, even lighter sports have their effects. “In case the goal is to relax the muscles, then stretching exercises or activities like yoga and pilates are fine, both of these disciplines combine the relaxation of the muscles with its strengthening – underlines Professor Lucini -. A different story concerns that part of the yoga more focused on the techniques of breathing, and in general any physical exercise that is carried out in close coordination with breathing, such as I swim: in this case the anti-stress effect is given precisely by the modulation of the depth and regularity of the breath, which allows to voluntarily regulate the autonomic nervous system “.
breathing exercises for anxiety and stress
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An effect, that of breathing against states of anxiety, which we can observe not only with the pranayama (i.e. the breathing techniques of yoga), but also with the mindfulness meditation, with the recitation of mantras and prayers, rosaries and Gregorian chants. “All these activities require a slow, deep breathing, with an expiratory phase longer than the insipiratory one, in order to favor the vagal part of the autonomic nervous system. This reduces heart rate and blood pressure, stimulating general relaxation. In conclusion, having to choose a sport, to counteract stress in the long term, an aerobic activity done well helps me to modulate the autonomic nervous system, favoring the activity of vagal part, associated with relaxation, and reducing that of orthosympathetic part, more related to stress. In the moment of acute stress, on the other hand, for immediate relaxation, a breathing exercise gives faster results “.
07 July 2022 (change 07 July 2022 | 11:05)
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