The effects of exercise intensity on the cortisol response to a subsequent acute psychosocial stressor

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Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

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Paper Summary

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Sweating Out the Stress: Intense Exercise Can Buffer Your Body's Hormonal Response To Stressful Situations

This study found that vigorous exercise dampened the cortisol response to a later psychosocial stress task in a sample of young men, whereas light and moderate exercise did not. This suggests a dose-response relationship between exercise intensity and the body's stress response to future stressful events, potentially through a glucocorticoid negative feedback loop.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Weaknesses

Restricted sample reduces generalizability

Although they used human participants, this study exclusively used young, healthy, fit males, thus it is not certain that these findings extend to women, older men, or those living with health conditions or heightened chronic stress in their daily lives. Future studies should test this.

Small Sample Size

The small sample size does not permit more in-depth modeling techniques (e.g. path analysis) to test mechanisms linking variables.

VO2 max and heart rate based intensity less certain

The authors discuss that a marker of ventilatory threshold, where minute ventilation reaches its maximum, may be a more accurate predictor of changes in HPA-axis activity compared to intensity based on HR or VO2. Future studies should examine this.

Mechanisms underlying acute cross stressor adaptation unknown

Although glucocorticoid negative feedback is discussed, it is still uncertain that this accounts for these findings. Future research may choose to directly measure neurotransmitters and other physiological processes to explore this.

Rating Explanation

This is a strong experimental study with a relevant research question and methodology. The authors used a dose response design, a clear and valid statistical analysis plan, and an appropriate acute stressor. Although there are limitations regarding generalizability and more in-depth examination of underlying mechanisms of cross-stressor adaptation (see limitations), the findings have relevance to stress mitigation efforts using exercise.

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