Abstract
Psychological stress is associated with numerous deleterious health effects. Accumulating evidence suggests acute exercise reduces stress reactivity. As stressors activate a wide array of psychological and physiological systems it is imperative stress responses are examined through a multidimensional lens. Moreover, it seems prudent to consider whether stress responses are influenced by exercise intervention characteristics such as modality, duration, intensity, timing, as well as participant fitness/physical activity levels. The current review therefore examined the role of acute exercise on stress reactivity through a multidimensional approach, as well as whether exercise intervention characteristics and participant fitness/physical activity levels may moderate these effects. Stress reactivity was assessed via heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, catecholamines, and self-report. A systematic search following PRISMA guidelines of five databases was updated in November 2022. Reviewed studies met the following criteria: English language, participants aged ≥ 18, use of acute exercise, use of a validated stress-inducing task, and assessment(s) of stress reactivity. Thirty-one studies (1386 participants) were included. Acute exercise resulted in reliable reductions to blood pressure and cortisol. Acute exercise yielded mostly negligible effects on heart rate reactivity and negligible effects on self-report measures. As for exercise intervention characteristics, intensity-dependent effects were present, such that higher intensities yielded larger reductions to reactivity measures, while limited evidence was present for duration, modality, and timing-dependent effects. Regarding participant fitness/physical activity levels, the effects on stress reactivity were mixed. Future work should standardize the definitions and assessment time points of stress reactivity, as well as investigate the interaction between physiological and psychological stress responses in real-world contexts.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Some data are presented in the Supplementary Files.
Notes
The measures of HR and BP have been demonstrated in prior work to be reliable and valid indicators of sympathetic nervous system activity in response to acute stresssors (Wadsworth et al., 2019). The measures of cortisol and catecholamines have also been used widely to assess neuroendocrine (e.g., brain, adrenal cortex) responses to acute stressors (Wadsworth et al., 2019). As for self-report, work by Campbell and Ehlert (2012) has identified the importance of using subjective measures of “feeling stressed, anxious, and nervous” to capture perceptions.
References
Abate, M., Citro, M., Caputo, M., Pisanti, S., & Martinelli, R. (2020). Psychological stress and cancer: New evidence of an increasingly strong link. Translational Medicine of the University of Salerno. https://doi.org/10.37825/2239-9747.1010
Alderman, B. L., Arent, S. M., Landers, D. M., & Rogers, T. J. (2007). Aerobic exercise intensity and time of stressor administration influence cardiovascular responses to psychological stress. Psychophysiology, 44, 759–766. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00548.x
Almeida, D. M., Wethington, E., & Kessler, R. C. (2002). The daily inventory of stressful events: An interview-based approach for measuring daily stressors. Assessment, 9, 41–55.
Arent, S. M., Landers, D. M., Matt, K. S., & Etnier, J. L. (2005). Dose-response and mechanistic issues in the resistance training and affect relationship. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 27, 92–110. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.27.1.92
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman and Company.
Bartholomew, J. B. (2000). Stress reactivity after maximal exercise: The effect of manipulated performance feedback in endurance athletes. Journal of Sports Science, 18, 893–899.
Basso, J. C., & Suzuki, W. A. (2017). The effects of acute exercise on mood, cognition, neurophysiology, and neurochemical pathways: A review. Brain Plasticity, 2, 127–152. https://doi.org/10.3233/BPL-160040
Batson, C. D., Shaw, L. L., & Oleson, K. C. (1991). Differentiating affect, mood, and emotion: Toward functionally based conceptual distinctions. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Review of Personality and Social Psychology (pp. 294–326). Sage Publications.
Benvenutti, M. J., da Silva Alves, E., Michael, S., Ding, D., Stamatakis, E., & Edwards, K. M. (2017). A single session of hatha yoga improves stress reactivity and recovery after an acute psychological stress task—A counterbalanced, randomized-crossover trial in healthy individuals. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 33, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2017.10.009
Bhui, K. S., Dinos, S., Stansfeld, S. A., & White, P. D. (2012). A synthesis of the evidence for managing stress at work: A review of the reviews reporting on anxiety, depression, and absenteeism. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012, 515874. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/515874
Boone, J. B., Jr., Probst, M. M., Rogers, M. W., & Berger, R. (1993). Postexercise hypotension reduces cardiovascular responses to stress. Journal of Hypertension, 11, 449–453.
Brownley, K. A., Hinderliter, A. L., West, S. G., Girdler, S. S., Sherwood, A., & Light, K. C. (2003). Sympathoadrenergic mechanisms in reduced hemodynamic stress responses after exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 35, 978–986.
Campbell, J., & Ehlert, U. (2012). Acute psychosocial stress: does the emotional stress response correspond with physiological responses? Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37, 461–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.12.010
Caplin, A., Chen, F. S., Beauchamp, M. R., & Puterman, E. (2021). The effects of exercise intensity on the cortisol response to a subsequent acute psychosocial stressor. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 131, 105336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105336
Caspersen, C. J., Powell, K. E., & Christenson, G. M. (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: Definitions and distinction for health-related research. Public Health Reports, 100, 126–131.
Chafin, S., Christenfeld, N., & Gerin, W. (2008). Improving cardiovascular recovery from stress with brief poststress exercise. Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.27.1(Suppl.).S64
Chan, J. S., Liu, G., Liang, D., Deng, K., Wu, J., & Yan, J. H. (2019). Special issue—Therapeutic benefits of physical activity for mood: a systematic review on the effects of exercise intensity, duration, and modality. Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2018.1470487
Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2010). Greater cardiovascular responses to laboratory mental stress are associated with poor subsequent cardiovascular risk status: A meta-analysis of prospective evidence. Hypertension, 55(4), 1026–1032. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.109.146621
Chrousos, G. P. (2009). Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 5(10), 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2009.106
Craft, L. L. (2005). Exercise and clinical depression: Examining two psychological mechanisms. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 6, 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2003.11.003
Davidson, J. R. (2006). Pharmacologic treatment of acute and chronic stress following trauma. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67, 34–39.
De Jesus, S., & Prapavessis, H. (2018). Affect and cortisol mechanisms through which acute exercise attenuates cigarette cravings during a temporary quit attempt. Addictive Behaviors, 78, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.007
Dedovic, K., Renwick, R., Mahani, N. K., Engert, V., Lupien, S. J., & Pruessner, J. C. (2005). The Montreal imaging stress task: Using functional imaging to investigate the effects of perceiving and processing psychosocial stress in the human brain. Journal of Psychiatry Neuroscience, 30, 319–325.
Earle, T., Linden, W., & Weinberg, J. (1999). Differential effects of harassment on cardiovascular and salivary cortisol stress reactivity and recovery in women and men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 46, 125–141.
Ebbesen, B. L., Prkachin, K. M., Mills, D. E., & Green, H. J. (1992). Effects of acute exercise on cardiovascular reactivity. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15, 489–507.
Ensari, I., Greenlee, T. A., Motl, R. W., & Petruzzello, S. J. (2015). Meta-analysis of acute exericse effects on state anxiety: an update of randomzied controlled trials over the past 25 years. Depression and Anxiety, 32, 624–634. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22370
Entringer, S., & Epel, E. S. (2020). The stress field ages: a close look into cellular aging processes. Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104537
Epel, E. S., Crosswell, A. D., Mayer, S. E., Prather, A. A., Slavich, G. M., Puterman, E., & Mendes, W. B. (2018). More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 39, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.001
Fahrenberg, J., Myrtek, M., Pawlik, K., & Perrez, M. (2007). Ambulatory assessment-monitoring behavior in daily life settings. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23, 206–218. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.23.4.206
Farah, N. M., Amran, A. D., & Che Muhamed, A. M. (2021). Attenuation of stress-induced cardiovascular reactivity following high-intensity interval exercise in untrained males. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39, 2755–2762. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2021.1957294
Faulkner, G., & Biddle, S. (2001). Exercise and mental health: It’s just not psychology! Journal of Sports Sciences, 19, 603–624. https://doi.org/10.1080/026404101300149384
Forcier, K., Stroud, L. R., Papandonatos, G. D., Hitsman, B., Reiches, M., Krishnamoorthy, J., & Niaura, R. (2006). Links between physical fitness and cardiovascular reactivity and recovery to psychological stressors: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 25, 723–732. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.25.6.723
Garner, P., Hopewell, S., Chandler, J., MacLehose, H., Akl, E. A., Beyene, J., & Schünemann, H. J. (2016). When and how to update systematic reviews: Consensus and checklist. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i3507
Gauche, R., Lima, R. M., Myers, J., Gadelha, A. B., Neri, S. G., Forjaz, C. L., & Vianna, L. C. (2017). Blood pressure reactivity to mental stress is attenuated following resistance exercise in older hypertensive women. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 12, 1043–1051. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S130787
Goetter, E. M., Frumkin, M. R., Palitz, S. A., Swee, M. B., Baker, A. W., Bui, E., & Simon, N. M. (2020). Barriers to mental health treatment among individuals with social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Psychological Services. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000254
Gordon, B. R., McDowell, C. P., Lyons, M., & Herring, M. P. (2017). The effects of resistance exercise training on anxiety: A meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sports Medicine, 47, 2521–2532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0769-0
Hagins, M., Moore, W., & Rundle, A. (2007). Does practicing Hatha yoga satisfy recommendations for intensity of physical activity which improves and maintains health and cardiovascular fitness? BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7, 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-7-40
Halliwill, J. R. (2001). Mechanisms and clinical implications of post-exercise hypotension in humans. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 29, 65–70.
Hamer, M., Jones, J., & Boutcher, S. H. (2006a). Acute exercise reduces vascular reactivity to mental challenge in offspring of hypertensive families. Journal of Hypertension. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.hjh.0000200515.33194.38
Hamer, M., Taylor, A., & Steptoe, A. (2006b). The effect of acute aerobic exercise on stress related blood pressure responses: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Biological Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2005.04.004
Hammen, C. (2005). Stress and depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143938
Heckenberg, R. A., Eddy, P., Kent, S., & Wright, B. J. (2018). Do workplace-based mindfulness meditation programs improve physiological indices of stress? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.09.010
Hobson, M. L., & Rejeski, W. J. (1993). Does the dose of acute exercise mediate psychophysiological responses to mental stress? Journal of Sport Exercise Psychology, 15, 77–87.
Hopkinson, M. D., Reavell, J., Lane, D. A., & Mallikarjun, P. (2019). Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, anxiety, and stress in caregivers of dementia patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnx217
Jackson, E. M., & Dishman, R. K. (2006). Cardiorespiratory fitness and laboratory stress: A meta-regression analysis. Psychophysiology, 43, 519–529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2006.00373.x
Jacquart, J., Papini, S., Freeman, Z., Bartholomew, J. B., & Smits, J. A. (2020). Using exercise to facilitate arousal reappraisal and reduce stress reactivity: A randomized controlled trial. Mental Health and Physical Activity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2020.100324
Jayasinghe, S. U., Torres, S. J., Hussein, M., Fraser, S. F., Lambert, G. W., & Turner, A. I. (2017). Fitter women did not have attenuated hemodynamic responses to psychological stress compared with age-matched women with lower levels of fitness. PLoS ONE, 12, e0169746. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169746
Jin, P. (1992). Efficacy of Tai Chi, brisk walking, meditation, and reading in reducing mental and emotional stress. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 36, 361–370.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Christian, L., Preston, H., Houts, C. R., Malarkey, W. B., Emery, C. F., & Glaser, R. (2010). Stress, inflammation, and yoga practice. Psychosomatic Medicine, 72, 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181cb9377
Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K.-M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1993). The ‘Trier social stress test’—A tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology, 28, 76–81. https://doi.org/10.1159/000119004
Klaperski, S., & Fuchs, R. (2021). Investigation of the stress-buffering effect of physical exercise and fitness on mental and physical health outcomes in insufficiently active men: A randomized controlled trial. Mental Health and Physical Activity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2021.100408
Klaperski, S., von Dawans, B., Heinrichs, M., & Fuchs, R. (2014). Effects of a 12 week endurance training program on the physiological response to psychosocial stress in men: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 561–568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9562-9
Kmet, L. M., Cook, L. S., & Lee, R. C. (2004). Standard quality assessment criteria for evaluating primary research papers from a variety of fields. In Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHMR)/HTA Report. Retrieved from https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/48b9b989-c221-4df6-9e35-af782082280e/view/a1cffdde-243e-41c3-be98 885f6d4dcb29/standard_quality_assessment_criteria_for_evaluating_primary_research_papers_from_a_variety_of_fields.pdf
LaManca, J. J., Peckerman, A., Sisto, S. A., DeLuca, J., Cook, S., & Natelson, B. H. (2001). Cardiovascular responses of women with chronic fatigue syndrome to stressful cognitive testing before and after strenuous exercise. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63, 756–764.
Lamotte, G., Boes, C. J., Low, P. A., & Coon, E. A. (2021). The expanding role of the cold pressor test: A brief history. Clinical Autonomic Research, 31, 153–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-021-00796-4
Landais, L. L., Damman, O. C., Schoonmade, L. J., Timmermans, D. R., Verhagen, E. A., & Jelsma, J. G. (2020). Choice architecture interventions to change physical activity and sedentary behavior: a systematic review of effects on intention, behavior and health outcomes during and after intervention. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17, 47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00942-7
Leow, S., Beer, N. J., Dimmock, J. A., Jackson, B., Alderson, J. A., Clarke, M. W., & Guelfi, K. J. (2021). The effect of antecedent exercise on the acute stress response and subsequent food consumption: A preliminary investigation. Physiology Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113256r
Lowe, C., & Wuthrich, V. M. (2021). Randomized controlled trial of study without stress: A cognitive behavioral therapy program to reduce stress in students in the final year of high school. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01099-x
Manuck, S. B., Kasprowicz, A. L., & Muldoon, M. F. (1990). Behaviorally-evoked cardiovascular reactivity and hypertension: Conceptual issues and potential associations. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 12, 17–29.
Mariano, I. M., Amaral, A. L., Ribeiro, P. A., & Puga, G. M. (2022). A single session of exercise reduces blood pressure reactivity to stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 12, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15786-3
Marketon, J. I., & Glaser, R. (2008). Stress hormones and immune function. Cellular Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellimm.2007.09.006
McEwen, B. S., Eiland, L., Hunter, R. G., & Miller, M. M. (2012). Stress and anxiety: Structural plasticity and epigenetic regulation as a consequence of stress. Neuropharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.07.014
Meireles, K., Pecanha, T., Dias, A. R., Souza, K. A., Araujo, J. A., Silva, J. S., & Arsa, G. (2020). Acute effects of moderate-intensity and high-intensity exercise on hemodynamic and autonomic reactivity to the cold pressor test in young adults with excess body weight. Blood Pressure Monitoring, 25, 82–88. https://doi.org/10.1097/MBP.0000000000000422
Monroe, D. C., Yin, J., McCully, K. K., & Dishman, R. K. (2018). Yoga aids blood pressure recovery after exposure of forehead to cold: A pilot study. Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine, 24, 12–17.
Moreira, S. R., Lima, R. M., Silva, K. E., & Simões, H. G. (2014). Combined exercise circuit session acutely attenuates stress-induced blood pressure reactivity in healthy adults. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 18, 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-35552012005000135
Moroz, N., Moroz, I., & D’Angelo, M. S. (2020). Mental health services in Canada: Barriers and cost-effective solutions to increase access. Journal of Healthcare Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/0840470420933911
Mücke, M., Ludyga, S., Colledge, F., & Gerber, M. (2018). Influence of regular physical activity and fitness on stress reactivity as measured with the trier social stress test protocol: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 48, 2607–2622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0979-0
Nater, U. M. (2018). The multidimensionality of stress and its assessment. Brain Behavior and Immunity, 73, 159–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.07.018
Neves, F. J., Carvalho, A. C. G., Rocha, N. G., Silva, B. M., Sales, A. R. K., de Castro, R. R. T., Rocha, J. D., Thomaz, D. G., & Nóbrega, A. C. L. (2012). Hemodynamic mechanisms of the attenuated blood pressure response to mental stress after a single bout of maximal dynamic exercise in healthy subjects. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 45, 610–616. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-879X2012007500083
Nystoriak, M. A., & Bhatnagar, A. (2018). Cardiovascular effects and benefits of exercise. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 5, 135. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2018.00135
Oblak, L., van der Zaag, J., Higgins-Chen, A. T., Levine, M. E., & Boks, M. P. (2021). A systematic review of biological, social, and environmental factors associated with epigenetic clock acceleration. Ageing Research Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.101348
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., & Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Petruzzello, S. J., Landers, D. M., Hatfield, B. D., Kubitz, K. A., & Salazar, W. (1991). A meta-analysis on the anxiety-reducing effects of acute and chronic exercise. Sports Medicine, 11, 143–182.
Probst, M., Bulbulian, R., & Knapp, C. (1997). Hemodynamic responses to the Stroop and cold pressor tests after submaximal cycling exercise in normotensive males. Physiology Behavior, 62, 1283–1290.
Quinn, T. J. (2000). Twenty-four hour, ambulatory blood pressure responses following acute exercise: Impact of exercise intensity. Journal of Human Hypertension, 14, 547–553.
Rejeski, W. J., Gregg, E., Thompson, A., & Berry, M. (1991). The effects of varying doses of acute aerobic exercise on psychophysiological stress responses in highly trained cyclists. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 13, 188–199.
Rejeski, W. J., Thompson, A., Brubaker, P. H., & Miller, H. S. (1992). Acute exercise: Buffering psychosocial stress responses in women. Health Psychology, 11, 355.
Rimmele, U., Seiler, R., Marti, B., Wirtz, P. H., Ehlert, U., & Heinrichs, M. (2009). The level of physical activity affects adrenal and cardiovascular reactivity to psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 1780–1787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.023
Roy, M., & Steptoe, A. (1991). The inhibition of cardiovascular responses to mental stress following aerobic exercise. Psychophysiology, 28, 689–700.
Santaella, D. F., Araújo, E. A., Ortega, K. C., Tinucci, T., Mion, D., Jr., Negrão, C. E., & de Moraes Forjaz, C. L. (2006). Aftereffects of exercise and relaxation on blood pressure. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 16, 341–347.
Sharma, M., & Rush, S. E. (2014). Mindfulness-based stress reduction as a stress management intervention for healthy individuals: A systematic review. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary Alternative Medicine, 19, 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587214543143
Sinclair, L., & Nutt, D. (2007). Anxiolytics. Psychiatry, 6, 284–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mppsy.2007.04.007
Smeets, T., Cornelisse, S., Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M., Meyer, T., Jelicic, M., & Merckelbach, H. (2012). Introducing the Maastricht acute stress test (MAST): A quick and non-invasive approach to elicit robust autonomic and glucocorticoid stress responses. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37, 1998–2008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.04.012
Sothmann, M. S. (2006). The cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis and exercise training. In E. O. Acevedo & P. Ekkekakis (Eds.), Psychobiology of Physical Activity (pp. 149–160). Human Kinetics.
Steptoe, A., Kearsley, N., & Walters, N. (1993). Cardiovascular activity during mental stress following vigorous exercise in sportsmen and inactive men. Psychophysiology, 30, 245–252.
Steptoe, A., & Kivimäki, M. (2012). Stress and cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2012.45
Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643.
Szabo, A., Francois, P., Boudreau, G., Cote, L., Gauvin, L., & Seraganian, P. (1993). Psychophysiological profiles in response to various challenges during recovery from acute aerobic exercise. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 14, 285–292.
Turner, A. I., Smyth, N., Hall, S. J., Torres, S. J., Hussein, M., Jayasinghe, S. U., & Clow, A. J. (2020). Psychological stress reactivity and future health and disease outcomes: A systematic review of prospective evidence. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 114, 104599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104599
Wadsworth, M. E., Broderick, A. V., Loughlin-Presnal, J. E., Bendezu, J. J., Joos, C. M., Ahlkvist, J. A., Perzow, S. E. D., & McDonald, A. (2019). Co-activation of SAM and HPA responses to acute stress: A review of the literature and test of differential associations with preadolescents’ internalizing and externalizing. Developmental Psychology, 61, 1079–1093. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21866
West, S. G., Brownley, K. A., & Light, K. C. (1998). Postexercise vasodilation reduces diastolic blood pressure responses to stress. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 20, 77–83.
Wheeler, E. A., Santoro, A. N., & Bembenek, A. F. (2019). Separating the “limbs” of yoga: Limited effects on stress and mood. Journal of Religion and Health, 58, 180–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0482-1
Wood, C. J., Clow, A., Hucklebridge, F., Law, R., & Smyth, N. (2018). Physical fitness and prior physical activity are both associated with less cortisol secretion during psychosocial stress. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 31, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2017.1390083
Wood, C., Flynn, M., Law, R., Naufahu, J., & Smyth, N. (2020). The effect of the visual exercise environment on the response to psychological stress: A pilot study. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 33, 664–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2020.1770231
Wunsch, K., Wurst, R., von Dawans, B., Strahler, J., Kasten, N., & Fuchs, R. (2019). Habitual and acute exercise effects on salivary biomarkers in response to psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 109, 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.015
Zschucke, E., Renneberg, B., Dimeo, F., Wustenberg, T., & Strohle, A. (2015). The stress-buffering effect of acute exercise: Evidence for HPA axis negative feedback. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 58, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen
Funding
No funding was received for conducting this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
AM and HP: Conceptualized the review. AM, KD, YS, and EA: Performed the literature search and quality review. AM: Drafted the review. HP: Critically revised the work.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Informed consent
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Morava, A., Dillon, K., Sui, W. et al. The effects of acute exercise on stress reactivity assessed via a multidimensional approach: a systematic review. J Behav Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-024-00470-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-024-00470-w