Regular Exercise Plays A Consistent And Significant Role In Reducing Fatigue, UG

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Regular Exercise Plays A Consistent And Significant Role In Reducing

Fatigue, UGA Study Finds

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=55669

Forget so-called " energy drinks. " A new analysis by University of

Georgia researchers finds overwhelming evidence that regular

exercise plays a significant role in increasing energy levels and

reducing fatigue.

" A lot of times when people are fatigued the last thing they want to

do is exercise, " said professor O'Connor, co-director of the

UGA exercise psychology laboratory. " But if you're physically

inactive and fatigued, being just a bit more active will help. "

Health professionals encourage regular exercise to prevent or

improve symptoms of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and

obesity, but the scientific evidence on whether exercise increases

or reduces fatigue had never been reviewed quantitatively. O'Connor,

kinesiology professor Rod Dishman and lead author Tim Puetz, who

recently completed his doctoral work at UGA, analyzed 70 randomized,

controlled trials that enrolled a total of 6,807 subjects. They

found strong support for the role of exercise in reducing fatigue.

" More than 90 percent of the studies showed the same thing:

Sedentary people who completed a regular exercise program reported

improved fatigue compared to groups that did not exercise " O'Connor

said. " It's a very consistent effect. "

The study, published in the November issue of the journal

Psychological Bulletin, quantified the magnitude of the effect of

exercise and found that it was stronger than the treatment of

fatigued people with drugs such as the narcolepsy drug modafinil.

Specifically, the researchers found that exercise increased energy

and reduced fatigue by 0.37 standard deviations when compared to

control groups, whereas participants in a previous study taking

modafinil had an improvement of 0.23 standard deviations.

Puetz notes that their analysis found that nearly every group

studied - from healthy adults to cancer patients to those with

chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease - benefited

from exercise. He acknowledges that it may seem counterintuitive

that expending energy through exercise would increase feelings of

energy and reduce fatigue, but he points out that previous studies

have shown marked increases in the levels of energy-promoting and

mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine

and serotonin in the brains of animals that are placed in regular

exercise conditions.

" We live in a society where people are always looking for the next

sports drink, energy bar or cup of coffee that will give them the

extra edge to get through the day, " Puetz said. " But it may be that

lacing up your tennis shoes and getting out and doing some physical

activity every morning can provide that spark of energy that people

are looking for. "