Walking As Anxiety Relief
If you have a habit of becoming anxious, a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry states that walking may be your best medicine.
How did they come up with the conclusion? Researchers injected an amino acid molecule that produces panic attacks into 15 healthy volunteers after they had rested or walked on a treadmill for about 30 minutes.
The resting group did not fare too well, with 12 of 15 experiencing panic attacks. The group which walked had only six volunteers experience the symptoms. This led researchers to conclude that exercise may have a tranquilizing effect on patients with panic disorders.
While the therapeutic benefits of exercise are well known, and I firmly believe the conclusions are correct, I still find it hard to believe that such a small scale study could lead to firm conclusions in the scientific community. As trainers, we have thousands of patients we can draw upon for our conclusions. Why don’t they ask us for a more in-depth understanding of the matter? Because small scale studies in orthodox circles are deemed more relevant than practical, field level experience from supposedly untrained personnel. Go figure.
