Aims and Scope
Recent Articles
Mental Health and Physical Activity: A COVID-19 Viewpoint
Sunday O. Onagbiye, Zandile June-Rose Mchiza, Ezihe L. Ahanonu, Susan H. Bassett, Andre TravillCOVID-19, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, has become a public health emergency across the globe. It is a highly contagious disease, which elicits high levels of fear amongst the world population and is considered a threat to the world economy. As a response to this pandemic, international governments have devised unconventional measures to guard the health of their citizenry. Among these are the “new normal” country lockdown that mandates working from home, home-schooling of children, and physical/social distancing from friends and family. For the majority, this has resulted in momentary job loss and loneliness, and other psychological illnesses. Hence millions are frightened, depressed and panic easily as a result of the tension due to the uncertainty, which interferes with their job performance, livelihoods, international trade and the world economy. If not mitigated, this is likely to cause physical health deterioration, with severe mental illness being the outcome. To reduce mental health illnesses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence suggests prioritising regular participation in physical activity and exercise across lifespan. It is also important for medical experts who specialise in the care and management of mental health to recognise physical activity and exercise as a medicine that can ameliorate some mental illnesses and their associated risk factors.
May 24, 2021
Articles
- April 22, 2021
Efficacy of McKenzie Manipulative Therapy on Pain, Functional Activity and Disability for Lumbar Disc Herniation
March 22, 2021Formation of Psychophysical Readiness of Cadets for Future Professional Activity
March 22, 2021Theoretical Basis of Technical-tactical Behavior and its Application in Ultimate Full Contact Training
May 24, 2021Is Infrared Thermography Reliable to Assess Pain in the Trapezius Muscle Region?
Editor's Choice
Resilience, Psychological Characteristics, and Resting-state Brain Cortical Activity in Athletes and Non-athletes
Thais Cevada, Alexandre Moreira, Liliane Maria Pereira Vilete, Viola Oertel-Knöchel, Andrea Camaz Deslandes
Background:
Athletes might build long-term resilience due to their need to adapt constantly to stressful situations. Further, physical activity is a powerful tool for stress-release, and controlling anxiety and depressive symptoms which might induce resilience by enhancing coping skills.
Objective:
This study aimed to compare the resilience, psychological characteristics, and the resting-state brain cortical activity of athletes and non-athletes. The secondary goal was to identify which variables could predict the resilience score.
Methods:
Ninety participants were divided into three groups, athlete (n=30), physically active (n=30) and sedentary (n=30), and asked to fill out the international physical activity questionnaire – short version (IPAQ), the resilience scale, the Beck depression inventory (BDI) and the trait and state anxiety inventory (STAI). Moreover, resting-state brain cortical activity was recorded by using an EEG to compute the standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) analyses.
Results:
Significant differences between groups were observed in terms of resilience (X2=8.52; p=0.014) and physical activity level (X 2=76.07; p<0.001), with the athletes presenting higher values. Lower anxiety and depression, and higher physical activity levels were associated with higher resilience scores (R2=0.45; p=0.02). The results of sLORETA showed higher activity for sedentary individuals compared to athletes in frontal areas (Broadmann Area-BA 6, BA 8, BA 9), as well as when compared to physically active individuals in the superior frontal gyrus (BA 9). Additionally, physically active individuals presented less activity than athletes in the inferior occipital gyrus (BA 18).
Conclusion:
The results suggest that the physically active and athlete groups may have built a more resilient profile (compared to sedentary), have similar anxiety and depressive symptoms, and present a divergent resting-state brain cortical activity from the sedentary group, mainly in prefrontal areas. These findings suggest that regular physical activity and sports should be encouraged to aid in enhancing resilience and resting-state brain cortical function, and consequently, improving mental health.
October 26, 2020
Other Post
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Determinative Factors in The Injury Incidence on Runners: Synthesis of Evidence “Injuries on Runners”
December 29, 2017
Physiological and Biomechanical Fatigue Responses in Karate: A Case Study
December 29, 2017
Numerical Study of Non-Newtonian Blood Behavior in the Abdominal Aortic Bifurcation of a Patient-Specific at Rest
December 29, 2017
Using Wavelet Transform for Speed Fluctuation Analysis During Manikin Carry with Fins
December 29, 2017
Relationship Between Knee Extensors Power Output and Vastus Lateralis EMG Activation in Elderly Women: Influence of Mother Wavelet Selection
December 29, 2017
Relationship Between Knee Valgus and Ground Reaction Force in Soccer Players Using Soccer Boots Landing on an Official Artificial Turf
