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Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology 8/2022

11-05-2022 | Original Article

The effectiveness of bench step exercise for ameliorating acute mental stress-induced arterial stiffening

Authors: Daisuke Kume, Masato Nishiwaki, Ryo Takahara, Norio Hotta

Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology | Issue 8/2022

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of bench step (BS) exercise for ameliorating arterial stiffening caused by acute mental stress (MS).

Methods

Fifteen young healthy men participated in two randomized trials: rest (RE) and exercise (EX) trials. Following a 5-min MS task (first task), the RE trial participants rested on a chair for 10 min (from 10 to 20 min after task cessation); the EX trial participants performed BS exercise for the same duration. At 40 min after the first task, the participants performed the same task (second task) again. Heart–brachial pulse wave velocity (PWV) (hbPWV), brachial–ankle PWV (baPWV), heart–ankle PWV (haPWV), and the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) were measured simultaneously at 5, 30, and 50 min after the first task.

Results

Both trials caused significant elevations in hbPWV, haPWV, and CAVI at 5 min after the first task; these changes persisted until 30 min after the task in the RE trial, while they were abolished in the EX trial. baPWV significantly increased at 30 min after the task in the RE trial, but not in the EX trial. After the second task (from 30 to 50 min after the first task), none of the parameters significantly increased in the RE trial, although the values remained above baseline levels. In the EX trial, hbPWV, haPWV, and CAVI showed significant elevations.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that a 10-min BS exercise after acute MS can counteract stress-induced arterial stiffening, but has only a limited effect against subsequent acute MS.
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Literature
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Metadata
Title
The effectiveness of bench step exercise for ameliorating acute mental stress-induced arterial stiffening
Authors
Daisuke Kume
Masato Nishiwaki
Ryo Takahara
Norio Hotta
Publication date
11-05-2022
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
European Journal of Applied Physiology / Issue 8/2022
Print ISSN: 1439-6319
Electronic ISSN: 1439-6327
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04962-y

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