Exercise has a significant influence on the body’s ability to respond to stress. However, not all exercise can be conducive to stress reduction since irregular physical activities affect people’s bodies as stress itself (LaCaille & Taylor, 2013). However, regular exercise leads to improved recovery from stress and the overall reduction of its impact on people’s health. Among the most pronounced effects of regular exercise are “reduced morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease” (LaCaille & Taylor, 2013, p. 1), the development of which is, as a rule, stress-associated. Moreover, it has been found that “exercise training was beneficial in reducing reactivity to stressors with regards to heart rate, […] blood pressure, and self-reported stress” (LaCaille & Taylor, 2013, p. 2). Thus, regular exercise makes people feel fitter and more capable of coping with stress factors on physical and psychological levels. On a physical level, regular exercise diminishes response to stress, notably on the part of the cardiovascular system. On the psychological level, individuals who practice sports can withstand stressful situations without losing control over their feelings.
I think the experiment results agree with the explanation of the influence of physical activities over the response to stress provided by the article. Having experimented, I can assert the significant impact of sports on my health and general wellbeing. On the physical level, I feel fitter; I can run longer distances when needed, and I am tireless. It is easy for me now to climb large blocks of stairs without fatigue, while earlier acute physical exercises left me panting since, I believe, the organism saw them as stress itself. I think my cardiovascular system is better fitted to withstand stressful situations now that I train every day. On the psychological level, I became less moody and fall asleep quickly without brooding over the day’s negative events. I notice that now I can take events more calmly where previously I was bad-tempered or agitated.
Reference
LaCaille, R. A., & Taylor, M. (2013). Stress and Exercise. In Encyclopedia of behavioral medicine (pp. 1908-1910). Springer.