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Latest Mental Health News<\/h3>\n
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![\"News](\"https:\/\/media.healthday.com\/Images\/icimages\/46169.jpg\"\/)
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TUESDAY, Sept. 15, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Exercise<\/a> is often recommended to combat stress<\/a> and anxiety<\/a>. But it might not be the solution to your pandemic-related worries, new research indicates.<\/p>\n For the study, researchers analyzed data gathered from more than 900 pairs of identical and same-sex fraternal twins in Washington state during the early stages of the pandemic.<\/p>\n While 42% said their physical activity levels fell, 27% said they rose. Another 31% reported no change.<\/p>\n Those who said their physical activity levels had declined in the first two weeks after stay-at-home orders were issued reported higher levels of stress<\/a> and anxiety<\/a>, a finding that the researchers expected.<\/p>\n But they were surprised that the same was true among many twins who boosted their physical activity levels, according to the study.<\/p>\n “Certainly, people who don’t exercise<\/a> know that there are associations with mental health<\/a> outcomes, yet the ones that increased their exercise<\/a> also reported increased anxiety<\/a> and stress<\/a>,” said study co-author Glen Duncan. He’s a professor at Washington State University College of Medicine, in Spokane.<\/p>\n “It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on, but it could be that they are trying to use exercise<\/a> as a means to counter that stress<\/a> and anxiety<\/a> they’re feeling because of COVID,” Duncan added in a university news release.<\/p>\n The link between decreased physical activity and stress was confounded by genetic and environmental factors, the researchers noted.<\/p>\n In twin pairs where one reported decreased activity and the other remained the same, there was no difference in their stress levels, the findings showed.<\/p>\n “It’s not necessarily that exercise won’t help you personally manage stress,” Duncan said. “It’s just that there is something genetically and environmentally linking the two.”<\/p>\n The researchers plan to continue following the twins.<\/p>\n “At least in the short term, it seems there is not a lot of impact from either decreasing or increasing physical activity in terms of handling stress and anxiety<\/a>, but that might be different after two or three months under COVID restrictions,” Duncan said.<\/p>\n The findings were published online recently in the journal PLOS One<\/i>.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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