ArticleFrontiers in physiology2014
Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults.
Article in Frontiers in physiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 102 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Feasibility Study to Increase Resilience Through an At-home Virtual Exercise Training (Res-ET) Intervention Using Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST)
The Effectiveness of Foot-Ankle Exercise and Walking Exercise on Foot Neuropathy, Stress, Quality of Life, Blood Sugar Markers, Blood Pressure, Ankle-Brachial Index, and BMI Among Diabetes Mellitus Patients
A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Exploratory Study for a Definitive Randomised Controlled Trial of Foot-Ankle Versus Walking Exercises in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: Effects on Neuropathy, Stress, and Quality of Life
Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 229 citations in OpenAlex.
- Influence of Regular Physical Activity and Fitness on Stress Reactivity as Measured with the Trier Social Stress Test Protocol: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Physical Activity Interventions in Individuals with Binge Eating Disorders.Current obesity reports · 2018Pooled it
- Examining cross-sectional associations between Australian parents' physical activity levels and their parenting confidence.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Hot Water Extract ofNutrients · 2019Trial
- Does a 20-week aerobic exercise training programme increase our capabilities to buffer real-life stressors? A randomized, controlled trial using ambulatory assessment.European journal of applied physiology · 2016Trial
- Effectiveness of lifestyle interventions to reduce binge eating symptoms in African American and Hispanic women.Appetite · 2015Trial
- High Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Negatively Associated with Daily Cortisol Output in Healthy Aging Men.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Motives matter: A smartphone EMA study on the association between motives to exercise, exercise engagement and mood.British journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Structural Relationships Among Physical Activity, Sleep, and Resilience: A Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Study Among Physically Weak College Students.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Time to Address Eating Disorder Risk Among Medical Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Predict the Physiological and Psychological Stress Response to a Mathematics Exam in Secondary High School Students?European journal of sport science · 2026Article
- Resilience in motion: emerging perspectives on stress, substance use and youth.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Participation in physical activity and life skills in older adults: sequential roles of resilience and ego integrity.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Exercise prescription for mood and cognition: targeting the microbiota-gut-brain axis through short-chain fatty acids.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- The association of perceived stress on disordered eating among female college students: the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating role of physical exercise.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Self-Regulation of Healthy Lifestyles in the Nursing Workplace: A Mixed-Method Evaluation.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
- Effects of a structured physical activity intervention on mental health and psychological resilience among Chinese college students: a randomized controlled trial with mediation analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Flourishing older Canadians: What characteristics are associated with complete mental health?PloS one · 2026Article
- Engaging people with lived experience to co-design a community-led physical activity and diabetes prevention intervention for people experiencing homelessness.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Physical activity has long been considered beneficial to health and regular exercise is purported to relieve stress. However empirical evidence demonstrating these effects is limited. In this study, we compared psychophysiological responses to an acute psychosocial stressor between individuals who did, or did not, report regular physical exercise. Healthy men and women (N = 111) participated in two experimental sessions, one with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and one with a non-stressful control task. We measured heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, and self-reported mood before and at repeated times after the tasks. Individuals who reported physical exercise at least once per week exhibited lower heart rate at rest than non-exercisers, but the groups did not differ in their cardiovascular responses to the TSST. Level of habitual exercise did not influence self-reported mood before the tasks, but non-exercisers reported a greater decline in positive affect after the TSST in comparison to exercisers. These findings provide modest support for claims that regular exercise protects against the negative emotional consequences of stress, and suggest that exercise has beneficial effects in healthy individuals. These findings are limited by their correlational nature, and future prospective controlled studies on the effects of regular exercise on response to acute stress are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.