Fit & Stress Free
Work-related stress? Try to stay fit first
High fitness levels offer particularly
effective protection for professionals who experience a high degree of stress
at work.
It
is a well-known fact that fitness and well-being go hand in hand. But being in
good shape also protects against the health problems that arise when we feel
particularly stressed at work. As reported by sports scientists from the
University of Basel and colleagues from Sweden, it therefore pays to stay
physically active, especially during periods of high stress.
Psychosocial
stress is one of the key factors leading to illness-related absence from work.
This type of stress is accompanied by impaired mental well-being and an
increase in depressive symptoms. It also raises the likelihood of
cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and an unfavourable blood
lipid profile. Conversely, a high fitness level is associated with fewer
depressive symptoms and fewer cardiovascular risk factors.
Fitness,
risk factors, and self-perceived stress —The data from the study published in
the US journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise shows that a high
fitness level offers particularly effective protection for professionals who
experience a high degree of stress in the workplace. To obtain this data, the
researchers recorded the fitness levels of almost 200 Swedish employees — 51
per cent men, mean age 39 years using a so-called bicycle ergometer test. In
addition, they measured various known cardiovascular risk factors such as blood
pressure, body mass index, cholesterol, triglycerides and glycated hemoglobin.
The participants were then asked to provide information on their current
perception of stress. As expected, the study conducted by the Department of
Sport, Exercise and Health at the University of Basel, the Institute of Stress
Medicine, and Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg illustrates that
stressed individuals exhibit higher values of most cardiovascular risk factors.
Furthermore, it was confirmed that cardiovascular fitness is linked to
virtually all risk factors, with the risk factors being less high in people who
are physically fit.
Clinical
cut-offs exceeded in unfit individuals — The researchers demonstrated for the
first time that the relationship between the subjective perception of stress
and cardiovascular risk factors is moderated, so to speak, by fitness. In other
words, among the stressed employees, there were particularly large differences
between individuals with a high, medium, and low fitness level. For example,
when stress levels were high, the LDL cholesterol values exceeded the
clinically relevant limit in employees with a low fitness level but not in
those with a high fitness level. By contrast, where the exposure to stress was
low, far smaller differences were observed between fitness levels.
Promotion
of an active lifestyle — “Above all, these findings are significant because it
is precisely when people are stressed that they tend to engage in physical
activity less often,” says Professor Markus Gerber of the University of Basel.
Furthermore, he says that the study has direct implications for the therapy and
treatment of stress-related disorders.
Source | http://www.deccanchronicle.com
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan
& Co
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