new study (University of New England) compared group exercise to individual exercise, and found that while the solitary exercisers studied worked out twice as long, those doing a group exercise class experienced significant improvements in all quality of life measures: mental (12.6%), physical (24.8%) and emotional (26%), with a 26% reduction in stress levels. Solitary exercisers reported no significant changes in any measure, except mental quality of life (11% increase).
Study Suggests Regular Sauna-Going Lowers Risk for Hypertension
A recent study (Univ. of E. Finland, studying 1,621 men over 25 years) suggests that regular trips to the sauna can significantly reduce high blood pressure. Those who did two to three sauna sessions/week were 24% less likely to have hypertension, and four to seven visits cut the risk by 46%. The researchers noted: “This is good news…A healthy thing that is pleasant to do, and involves no sacrifice.”
Wellness Evidence Study: Expressive Writing Helps Chronic Worriers Perform Better
VIEW ALL BRIEF POSTS A new study from Michigan State University revealed that for chronic worriers, simply writing about your feelings can help you perform better on an upcoming stressful task. Researchers measured participants’ brain activity, and it’s the first neural evidence for the benefits of expressive writing, which takes the edge off of brains so that people can perform tasks with a ‘cooler head.’…
Study: Walking in Nature Beat the Treadmill
A new study from the University of Innsbruck suggests that walking outdoors/in nature has some key benefits over comparable exercise on the gym treadmill. People that hiked for three hours on a mountain trail (even though it was actually more strenuous) reported that it was less strenuous than the same time walking on a treadmill. And people’s mood scores were much higher after the outdoor hike.
Wellness Evidence Study: Yoga Works as Well as Physical Therapy for Back Pain
A new study from Boston University revealed that 12 weeks of yoga worked as well as 12 weeks of physical therapy in relieving back pain. For both groups, about half reduced their pain, disability and drug use – but people seemed to like yoga better: the yoga-doers were less likely to drop out of the study.
Wellness Evidence Study: Trendy Fasting Delivers No Unique Weight Loss Benefits
Alternate-day fasting has become a trending weight loss strategy, but a new trial on overweight/obese people showed that it offered the exact same benefits as traditional calorie restriction. Randomizing people into those that did every-other-day fasting or a diet restricted to 75 percent less daily calories, researchers found that at six months both the fasters and calorie restriction group lost 6.8 percent of weight (with no difference in blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.). But the fasters saw the biggest dropout rate.
