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Updated: Jul 18, 2025
08:17
Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
7.6K
The Effect of Acute Exercise on State Anxiety: A Systematic Review
Madeleine Connor1, Elaine A Hargreaves1, Orla K Scanlon1
1School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand.
Sports (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 25, 2023
Summary
Acute exercise can reduce anxiety, but the optimal type remains unclear. This review found that while exercise often helps, more research is needed on specific conditions and participant anxiety levels.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Exercise Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Acute exercise is known to reduce state anxiety.
- The optimal exercise stimulus for anxiety reduction is not well-defined.
- Previous reviews highlight the need for updated research and improved study quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review studies published since 2015 on acute exercise and anxiety.
- To assess improvements in study quality in recent research.
- To identify effective exercise characteristics for anxiety reduction.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
- Searched PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus databases.
- Assessed study characteristics and quality for 13 exercise conditions across 9 studies.
Main Results:
- Acute exercise significantly reduced anxiety in 53% of the conditions reviewed.
- Exercise was more effective than control in 4 conditions; one was as effective.
- No clear pattern emerged regarding the most effective exercise mode, duration, or intensity.
Conclusions:
- Acute exercise can be effective for reducing anxiety in healthy adults.
- Methodological limitations persist, including participant recruitment and control group variations.
- Future research should focus on individuals with moderate-to-high anxiety and self-selected exercise intensities.
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