Challenge Your Body, Challenge Your Mind: the Combined Effect of Fitness Level and Stress Appraisal on Stress Responses and Subsequent Cognitive Performance.

Background: Because of the health issues associated with high stress levels, it is important to find new strategies to regulate stress response. Previous research has examined the separate effects of fitness level and stress reappraisal on the stress response, but the combination of both factors is unknown. The goal of the study was to examine the combined effects of fitness and stress appraisal on stress responses and cognitive performance following a stressful event.

Method: On 2 separate days, 24 highly and poorly fit young men (M_age = 22.33, SD = 3.33) were exposed to a validated stress test and were induced to view their stress as facilitative or debilitative. Objective and subjective stress responses along with cognitive performance were evaluated before and immediately after the stress test.

Results: Participants in the high-fit/negative appraisal condition reported lower anxiety scores than participants in the low-fit/negative appraisal condition (d = 1.04). Participants had higher levels of cortisol after the stress test (d = 0.31), but no difference in heart rate, cortisol, or cognitive performance emerged among the conditions.

Conclusion: Fitness level might have a larger impact on stress response than stress appraisal, and stress reappraisal manipulations require more than just reading a note and a self-talk statement.