Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 May;51(5):962-969.
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001860.

Acute Exercise Effects among Young Adults with Analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Matthew P Herring  1   2 , Derek C Monroe  3 , Brett R Gordon  1   2 , Mats Hallgren  4 , Mark J Campbell  1   5
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Acute Exercise Effects among Young Adults with Analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Matthew P Herring et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 May.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Recent findings support positive effects of acute aerobic exercise on worry, state anxiety, and feelings of energy and fatigue among young adult women with subclinical, or analogue, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, exercise effects among young adult men with analogue GAD are unstudied.

Purpose: This study replicated initial findings of positive effects of acute vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise on worry, state anxiety, and feelings of energy and fatigue among young adult women with analogue GAD, examined responses among young adult men with analogue GAD, and explored sex-related differences and moderation by physical activity level, trait anxiety, depression, and poor sleep status.

Methods: Thirty-five young adults (21.4 ± 2.3 yr; 19 males; 16 females) with Penn State Worry Questionnaire scores ≥45 (60 ± 8) completed two counterbalanced 30-min conditions: treadmill running at ~71.2% ± 0.04% HR reserve and seated quiet rest. Outcomes included worry, worry engagement, absence of worry, state anxiety, and feelings of energy and fatigue.

Results: No outcome or moderator differed at baseline between sexes. Exercise significantly improved state anxiety (P < 0.04; d = 0.27) and feelings of energy (P < 0.001; d = 1.09). Small nonsignificant improvements were found for worry (d = 0.22), worry engagement (d = 0.18), and feelings of fatigue (d = 0.21). The magnitude of improvements in worry, worry engagement, absence of worry, and feelings of energy were stronger among females. Significant large, potentially clinically meaningful increases in feelings of energy were found among women (d = 1.35) and men (d = 0.92). A nonsignificant, but potentially clinically meaningful, moderate reduction in worry (d = 0.53) was found among women. High-trait anxiety and poor sleep quality were supported as moderators.

Conclusions: Findings replicated positive effects of acute aerobic exercise among young adult women with analogue GAD, and extended to support for positive effects among young adult men with analogue GAD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors disclose no conflicts of interest. The results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Hedges’ d Effect Sizes for Outcome Measures by Sex; asterisks indicate significant improvement for exercise compared to quiet rest based on 95% CI not encompassing 0.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Herring MP, Jacob ML, Suveg C, Dishman RK, O’Connor PJ. Feasibility of exercise training for the short-term treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Psychother Psychosom. 2012;81(1):21–8. - PubMed
    1. Herring MP, Kline CE, O’Connor PJ. Effects of exercise on sleep among young women with generalized anxiety disorder. Ment Health Phys Act. 2015;9:59–66. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Herring MP, Johnson KE, O’Connor PJ. Exercise training and health-related quality of life in generalized anxiety disorder. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2016;27:138–41.
    1. Herring MP, Jacob ML, Suveg C, O’Connor PJ. Effects of short-term exercise training on signs and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Ment Health Phys Act. 2011;4(2):71–7.
    1. Herring MP, Hallgren M, Campbell MJ. Acute exercise effects on worry, state anxiety, and feelings of energy and fatigue among young women with probable generalized anxiety disorder: a pilot study. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2017;33:31–6.

Publication types