Merely 40 percent of Canada's population use exercise as a way to deal with stress, a new study finds.
Many studies in the past have highlighted how physical activities and exercise is not just good for physical health but also mental health. It is touted to be a cost-effective and healthy stress buster. Despite these benefits very few people use exercise to their advantage. In fact, a new study by researchers from McMaster University found that only 40 percent of Canadians exercise to cope with stress.
"We know stress levels are high among Canadians, and that exercise is effective at managing stress and improving health and well-being, so the fact exercise is number eight and that less than half of the population use it is worrisome," said principal investigator John Cairney, a professor of family medicine, and psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences, at McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, in a press statement.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from the Statistics Canada's Canadian Community Health Survey. This survey collected information from over 40,000 Canadians, aged 15 years and older. Researchers looked to see which among thirteen stress-coping behaviors was most popular among the participants. Researchers were surprised to find that exercise ranked 8 among the 13 behaviors. This indicated that people preferred coping with stress by problem-solving; looking on the bright side, trying to relax, talking to others, blaming oneself, ignoring stress or praying, rather than being active.
The researchers also found that younger, single, more educated and more active adults as well as women were more likely to use exercise for dealing with stress. Additionally, participants who reported using exercise to combat stress were more likely to endorse other positive coping strategies and less likely to use alcohol or drugs for coping.
"Encouraging exercise, especially in groups identified as being less likely to use exercise to cope with stress, could potentially reduce overall stress levels and improve general health and well-being," said Cairney. "Exercise as a coping strategy for stress can be a 'win-win' situation because there are both mental and physical health benefits."
Findings of the study were published online in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
