After a heart attack, physical activity makes you feel better
April 24, 2020
Science Daily/European Society of Cardiology
Heart attack patients who take part in a lifestyle improvement programme feel better -- especially when they do additional physical activity. That's the finding of a large study presented today on ACVC Essentials 4 You, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
"Exercise improves fitness, which has both physical and mental health benefits," said study author Dr. Ben Hurdus of the University of Leeds, UK. "If you're more able to participate in activities that bring you happiness, then you're more likely to have a better quality of life."
Heart attack patients are typically offered lifestyle classes -- called cardiac rehabilitation -- unless they have a particular reason why it's not suitable for them. Classes include exercise, smoking cessation, advice on diet and stress management, and the importance of taking medications.
This study investigated the impact of those classes on how heart attack patients feel about their physical and mental health (collectively termed 'health-related quality of life'). Heart attacks have a detrimental effect on quality of life, including problems with mobility, self-care, and daily activities which many people take for granted such as work and leisure.
Previous research has shown a link between cardiac rehabilitation and improved quality of life in heart attack patients. However, most of these studies were conducted prior to modern drugs and procedures such as statins to lower 'bad' cholesterol and stents to open clogged arteries.
The EMMACE-3 study recruited 4,570 patients who were admitted to 48 hospitals across England with suspected heart attack in 2011 to 2013. Patients completed a questionnaire while in hospital and then at 1, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Questions included whether they attended cardiac rehabilitation, their perceived quality of life, and their physical activity levels.
Patients who attended cardiac rehabilitation had a higher quality of life at all time points compared to those who did not. Patients who went to cardiac rehabilitation and exercised 150 minutes or more per week had even higher quality of life scores compared to those who did neither.
Dr. Hurdus said: "Cardiac rehabilitation involves not only exercise but also advice on lifestyle and medications which likely all contribute to making people feel better. There are also the added social benefits such as being around other people in a similar situation and having that shared sense of community. People who also do more than the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of activity per week report even higher quality of life."
Professor Chris Gale, senior author from the University of Leeds concluded: "All heart attack patients should be referred for cardiac rehabilitation unless their healthcare professional advises against it. If it isn't discussed, speak to your local healthcare professional to see if is suitable for you."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200424093602.htm
Group exercise improves quality of life, reduces stress far more than individual work outs
October 30, 2017
Science Daily/American Osteopathic Association
Group exercise participants showed significant improvements in all three quality of life measures: mental (12.6 percent), physical (24.8 percent) and emotional (26 percent). They also reported a 26.2 percent reduction in perceived stress levels. By comparison, individual fitness participants on average worked out twice as long, and saw no significant changes in any measure, except in mental quality of life (11 percent increase).
Researchers found working out in a group lowers stress by 26 percent and significantly improves quality of life, while those who exercise individually put in more effort but experienced no significant changes in their stress level and a limited improvement to quality of life, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.
"The communal benefits of coming together with friends and colleagues, and doing something difficult, while encouraging one another, pays dividends beyond exercising alone," said Dayna Yorks, DO, lead researcher on this study. "The findings support the concept of a mental, physical and emotional approach to health that is necessary for student doctors and physicians."
Dr. Yorks and her fellow researchers at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine recruited 69 medical students -- a group known for high levels of stress and self-reported low quality of life -- and allowed them to self-select into a twelve-week exercise program, either within a group setting or as individuals. A control group abstained from exercise other than walking or biking as a means of transportation.
Every four weeks, participants completed a survey asking them to rate their levels of perceived stress and quality of life in three categories: mental, physical and emotional.
Those participating in group exercise spent 30 minutes at least once a week in CXWORX, a core strengthening and functional fitness training program. At the end of the twelve weeks, their mean monthly survey scores showed significant improvements in all three quality of life measures: mental (12.6 percent), physical (24.8 percent) and emotional (26 percent). They also reported a 26.2 percent reduction in perceived stress levels.
By comparison, individual fitness participants were allowed to maintain any exercise regimen they preferred, which could include activities like running and weight lifting, but they had to work out alone or with no more than two partners. On average the solitary exercisers worked out twice as long, and saw no significant changes in any measure, except in mental quality of life (11 percent increase). Similarly, the control group saw no significant changes in quality of life or perceived stress.
"Medical schools understand their programs are demanding and stressful. Given this data on the positive impact group fitness can have, schools should consider offering group fitness opportunities," said Dr. Yorks. "Giving students an outlet to help them manage stress and feel better mentally and physically can potentially alleviate some of the burnout and anxiety in the profession."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171030092917.htm
Generous people live happier lives
July 11, 2017
University of Zurich
Generosity makes people happier, even if they are only a little generous. People who act solely out of self-interest are less happy. Merely promising to be more generous is enough to trigger a change in our brains that makes us happier, neuroeconomists found in a recent study.
What some have been aware of for a long time, others find hard to believe: Those who are concerned about the well-being of their fellow human beings are happier than those who focus only on their own advancement. Doing something nice for another person gives many people a pleasant feeling that behavioral economists call a warm glow. In collaboration with international researchers, Philippe Tobler and Ernst Fehr from the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich investigated how brain areas communicate to produce this feeling. The results provide insight into the interplay between altruism and happiness.
Even a little generosity makes people happier
In their experiments, the researchers found that people who behaved generously were happier afterwards than those who behaved more selfishly. However, the amount of generosity did not influence the increase in contentment. "You don't need to become a self-sacrificing martyr to feel happier. Just being a little more generous will suffice," says Philippe Tobler.
Before the experiment started, some of the study participants had verbally committed to behaving generously towards other people. This group was willing to accept higher costs in order to do something nice for someone else. They also considered themselves happier after their generous behavior (but not beforehand) than the control group, who had committed to behaving generously toward themselves.
Intent alone suffices to cause neural changes
While the study participants were making their decision to behave or not to behave generously, the researchers examined activity in three areas of the participants' brains: in the temporoparietal junction (where prosocial behavior and generosity are processed), in the ventral striatum (which is associated with happiness), and in the orbitofrontal cortex (where we weigh the pros and cons during decision-making processes). These three brain areas interacted differently, depending on whether the study participants had committed to generosity or selfishness.
Simply promising to behave generously activated the altruistic area of the brain and intensified the interaction between this area and the area associated with happiness. "It is remarkable that intent alone generates a neural change before the action is actually implemented," says Tobler.
Benefit from the promise to behave generously
"Promising to behave generously could be used as a strategy to reinforce the desired behavior, on the one hand, and to feel happier, on the other," says Tobler. His co-author Soyoung Park adds: "There are still some open questions, such as: Can communication between these brain regions be trained and strengthened? If so, how? And, does the effect last when it is used deliberately, that is, if a person only behaves generously in order to feel happier?"
About the experiment
At the beginning of the experiment, the 50 participants were promised a sum of money that they would receive in the next few weeks and were supposed to spend. Half of the study participants committed to spending the money on someone they knew (experimental group, promise of generosity), while the other half committed to spending the money on themselves (control group).
Subsequently, all of the study participants made a series of decisions concerning generous behavior, namely, whether to giving somebody who is close to them a gift of money. The size of the gift and the cost thereof varied: One could, for example, give the other person five francs at a cost of two francs. Or give twenty francs at a cost of fifteen. While the study participants were making these decisions, the researchers measured activity in three brain areas: in the temporoparietal junction, where prosocial behavior and generosity are processed; in the ventral striatum, which is associated with happiness; and in the orbitofrontal cortex, where we weigh the pros and cons during decision-making processes. The participants were asked about their happiness before and after the experiment.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170711112441.htm