REFERENCE: Sharon-David, H. & Tenenbaum, G. (2017). Effectiveness of exercise interventions on coping with stress: Research Synthesis Studies in Sport Humanities, 22, 19-29.
RESEARCH AIM: To examine the effectiveness of exercise as treatment for stress in non clinical healthy people.
STUDY DESIGN: This research paper is a systematic review which is a summary of many other published research papers in attempt to create an overall statement about exercise and stress. The paper initially included 55 studies but after scrutiny, only 12 studies remained in the final review.
FINDINGS: Results indicate some support for exercise as a tool for improving perceived stress and stress related symptoms.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that exercise can reduce self-reported stress and related symptoms; however, several limitations and considerations remain:
- Physiological stress was not measured (e.g., cortisol, HRV), so the impact of exercise on physical stress is unclear.
- Stress exposure varied and may not represent chronic daily stress.
- The exact exercise dose needed is unknown, as studies varied in type, intensity, and volume. Low to moderate aerobic intensity is recommended.
