Long-term aerobic exercise enhances interoception and reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety in physically inactive young adults: A randomized controlled trial

IF 3.3 2区心理学 Q2 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

Psychology of Sport and Exercise Pub Date : 2025-07-11 DOI:10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102939

Michał Remiszewski , Gabriela Rajtar , Zuzanna Komarek , Tomasz Pałka , Marcin Maciejczyk , Tomasz S. Ligeza

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Physical exercise offers many health benefits, with substantial evidence supporting its positive impact on affective symptoms. An intriguing yet underexplored mechanism associated with this effect is the enhancement of interoception—the ability to perceive internal bodily sensations. We investigated the effects of long-term aerobic exercise on interoceptive accuracy (IAcc), interoceptive confidence (ICon) and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Physically inactive young adult participants were randomly assigned to either an Experimental (n = 32) or a passive Control group (n = 30). The Experimental group completed a 12-week cycling ergometer program, with the first 6 weeks consisting of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) followed by 6 weeks of moderate to high-intensity interval training (MIIT). IAcc and ICon was assessed through a heartbeat counting task, while symptoms of depression and anxiety were evaluated using self-reported questionnaires at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks of intervention. The results showed a significant improvement in IAcc, ICon and affective symptoms in the Experimental group after 6 weeks of MICT compared to baseline. However, the transition to MIIT did not produce further gains. No beneficial changes in IAcc, ICon or affective symptoms were observed in the passive Control group throughout the intervention. The study highlights exercise's potential to improve interoception in physically inactive young adults and to enhance emotional well-being by improving affective symptoms. Given the increasing physical inactivity among healthy individuals, our findings may contribute to preventing the adverse consequences of such a lifestyle.

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长期有氧运动增强无运动年轻人的内感受并减轻抑郁和焦虑症状：一项随机对照试验

体育锻炼对健康有很多好处，有大量证据支持它对情感症状的积极影响。与这种效应相关的一个有趣但尚未被充分探索的机制是内感受的增强，即感知身体内部感觉的能力。我们研究了长期有氧运动对内感受准确性（IAcc）、内感受置信度（ICon）以及抑郁和焦虑症状的影响。不运动的年轻成年参与者被随机分配到实验组（n = 32）和被动对照组（n = 30）。实验组完成了一项为期12周的自行车测力计计划，前6周包括中等强度连续训练（MICT），然后是6周的中高强度间歇训练（MIIT）。通过心跳计数任务评估IAcc和ICon，而在基线和干预6周和12周后使用自我报告问卷评估抑郁和焦虑症状。结果显示，与基线相比，MICT治疗6周后，实验组的IAcc、ICon和情感症状均有显著改善。然而，向工信部的转型并没有产生进一步的收益。在整个干预过程中，被动对照组没有观察到IAcc、ICon或情感症状的有益变化。这项研究强调了锻炼对缺乏运动的年轻人的内感受能力的增强，以及通过改善情感症状来增强情绪健康的潜力。

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来源期刊

Psychology of Sport and Exercise 医学-心理学

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

5.90%

发文量

172

审稿时长

69 days

期刊介绍： Psychology of Sport and Exercise is an international forum for scholarly reports in the psychology of sport and exercise, broadly defined. The journal is open to the use of diverse methodological approaches. Manuscripts that will be considered for publication will present results from high quality empirical research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, commentaries concerning already published PSE papers or topics of general interest for PSE readers, protocol papers for trials, and reports of professional practice (which will need to demonstrate academic rigour and go beyond mere description). The CONSORT guidelines consort-statement need to be followed for protocol papers for trials; authors should present a flow diagramme and attach with their cover letter the CONSORT checklist. For meta-analysis, the PRISMA prisma-statement guidelines should be followed; authors should present a flow diagramme and attach with their cover letter the PRISMA checklist. For systematic reviews it is recommended that the PRISMA guidelines are followed, although it is not compulsory. Authors interested in submitting replications of published studies need to contact the Editors-in-Chief before they start their replication. We are not interested in manuscripts that aim to test the psychometric properties of an existing scale from English to another language, unless new validation methods are used which address previously unanswered research questions.