Anxiety is a kind of feeling that naturally occurs in people. It happens in situations when one becomes irritated. Too much anxiety may lead to the abnormal performance of the human body. Each individual experiences a different feeling of anxiety (Wiles, Haase, Lawlor, Ness, & Lewis, 2011). Notably, physiological conditions perform crucial roles in the situation of anxiety. Therefore, avoiding physiological properties that can irritate someone is an effective way to contain anxiety in human beings.
Anxiety begins slowly but increases in a progression pattern as time unfolds. In conditions to be uncontrollable, it rises and irritates the individuals. Gillen and Gibala (2014) record that the major reasons for the occurrence of anxiety include the imbalanced physical appearance, a person’s failure to achieve, overweight, obesity, excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, and undertaking too many business travels. Symptoms of anxiety are hypochondriacs, too much hesitation, forgetfulness, sleeping problems, nervous, exhaustion, and bone pains among others.
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Anxiety, as well as depression, has been cited as the main causes of college learners/ mental health. According to Johnson and Taliaferro (2011), attending lectures, writing tests, and completing class assignments make students succumb to busy learning schedules, working, sometimes even bringing up a child, and attending to other life activities can cause substantial stress and limits sleeping hours (Carnevale, 2011). It also leads to high absenteeism rates, emotional behaviors, high school dropout rates, violence, drug and substance abuse, compelling other people to conform to one’s unrealistic demands, and a compromised state of the interpersonal skills. Individuals facing anxiety problems often succumb to motivational problems and consequently lower grades in their colleges, which eventually compromises their success. The kind of lifestyle can directly result in high anxiety levels.
Physical fitness is attained by engaging in regular physical exercise, and this is essential because it helps in promoting people’s individual levels while the amount of calories is expended. Shiraev and Barclay (2012) reaffirm that physical activities can involve walking up and down the stairs instead of using lifts, taking some walk after meals instead of just sitting down or indulging in a nap, walking some few blocks instead of riding a motor vehicle or bike all the time. The importance of engaging in physical exercise is to contain and manage heart-related illnesses, osteoporosis, noninsulin that is not dependent on diabetes, hypertension, and mental health disorders like anxiety and depression (Harvard University, 2011). Moreover, regular physical exercise has been linked to lower incidences of stroke and reduced cases of colon cancer.
Physical exercise can be significant to one’s health. Individuals who are physically active often demonstrate strong self-esteem as well as self-concepts, as evident by enhanced confidence, self-control, independence, emotional stability, and assertiveness. Harvard University (2011) identifies a substantial variance between physically active individuals and non-physically active ones as demonstrated by the scores of self-esteem and physical perception. Besides, Gillen and Gibala (2014) found similar results in investigating the link between physical competency and various psychological parameters. Although these studies also attempted to explore the correlation between anxiety and physical activity, they have failed to differentiate the nature of the relation according to one’s gender. Hence, the currently studies also focuses on investigating the link between anxiety and physical exercise in women, the relationship between anxiety and physical exercise in women, and finally establishing whether the correlation between anxiety and physical exercise is stronger in women than men or the correlation between anxiety and physical exercise is stronger in men than women. The pertinent issues have formed part of the specific objective of this research. By getting answers to these questions, the current research is deemed to have fulfilled the study gaps evident in the previous researches done in this area.
Engaging in physical exercise is an appropriate way of controlling or preventing the occurrence of anxiety among people. It also includes the elimination of stress under situations of pressure and tension ( Shiraev & Barclay, 2012) . Participating in regular physical activity is therapeutic in the sense that it is perceived as a stress management approach that promotes mood enhancement, self-esteem, and contains stress reactions related to physical and psychological problems (Johnson &Taliaferro, 2011). Further, the engagement in physical exercises inspires individuals to discover themselves and appreciate the quality of life, as it imparts greater skills in people. By appreciating and discovering oneself, participating in physical activity forms an appropriate way of preventing anxiety among individuals.
Embracing physical exercise makes people busy and occupied instead of spending quality time on the experiences that tend to stress individuals to the point of becoming traumatized. For example, a murder threat directed to a person may invoke too much fear and stress into the person (Carnevale, 2011). Eventually, the victim may fall into a depression and end up becoming traumatized. Therefore, engaging one in some productive activities will be imperative to the management of stress-related problems such as depression and trauma.
According to Carnevale (2011), physical activities, including swimming, martial arts, playing tennis, weight lifting, basketball, and soccer among others, assist individuals in enhancing the quality of their lives and maintaining their mental and physical health. Physical activity improves the blood circulation in the brains of individual and hence making them think fast and logically. For example, engaging in regular physical exercise improves one’s immunity and limits the number of sick days one can stay in bed ( Shiraev & Barclay, 2012) . The improved immunity is attributed to the increment in the number of stress-reducing factors as well as the reduction in the stress-reduction hormone cortisol. The effectiveness of these components is achieved through physical exercise. By containing stress, the engagement in physical activity benefits individuals by promoting their quality of life and enhancing the status of their mental and physical health.
Even though several studies have been directed at exploring the relationship between anxiety and physical activities, little has been examined about the nature of the strength of correlation between anxiety and physical exercise in men compared to women or the strength of correlation between anxiety and physical exercise in women compared to men. Anxiety could be eradicated by engaging in regular physical exercise (Carnevale, 2011). The comparison of the strength (strong or weak) of the correlation between anxiety and physical exercise between men and women is less explored. Hence, the present research will also include the analysis of whether the correlation between anxiety and physical exercise is stronger in men than in women.
Research Objective and Hypotheses
General Objective
The general objective of this research is to ascertain the correlation between exercise and anxiety.
In this case, the independent variable is exercise and the dependent variable is anxiety. It implies that the amount of exercise taken influences the level of anxiety in an individual. The variable of exercise has been measured by the frequency or number of activities men and women engage in daily while the variable of anxiety has been measured by the number of stress or depression-related cases men and women experience in their day-to-day encounters.
Specific Objectives
The following specific objectives have been derived from the general objectives of this present research:
To ascertain whether an increase in physical exercise reduces the level of anxiety
To establish whether correlation between physical exercise and anxiety is stronger in men than women
Research Hypothesis
In respect to the above specific objectives, the researcher has developed the following hypotheses to guide the present study.
H i : An increase in physical exercise leads to a reduction in the level of anxiety
H ii : The correlation between physical exercise and anxiety is stronger in men than in women
Research Method
Research Design
The study has utilized a descriptive survey design to investigate the correlation between physical exercise and anxiety. The reason for the selection of this design was to permit the researcher to collect data, describe the exercise and anxiety among the targeted men and women respondents. It has also made it possible to analyze the nature, direction, and strength of the independent variable of physical exercise and the dependent variable of anxiety.
Study Population
The study targeted 59,061 male and female students at New York University (total students enrolled as of Fall 2017) (NYU, 2017). The rationale for the choice of this college rests on the diversity of the student population, as New York University has been ranked as the college with the highest numbers of international students in the United States, with the at 30 percent (Times Higher Education, 2017). The inclusion of the student diversity is crucial because the correlation to be analysis between exercise and anxiety would a generalized finding on men and women from different parts of the world. The selection of men and women is purely on students currently at the university since they are accessible and can easily participate in the research. Since the total student population of 59,061is large and limiting in terms time constraint, the researcher introduced a sampling strategy to obtain the required number of participants.
Sample and Sampling Technique
Both male and female student respondents have been drawn utilizing a simple random sampling method. The study utilized Fisher et al.’s formula to compute the required sample size of 384 men and women from the student population of 59,061, which are 192 male students and 192 female students to complete the survey. The following is the representation of the formula.
Where-: n - The desired sample size (the targeted population is more than 10,000)
z - The standard normal deviation, set at 1.96, which corresponds to 95% confidence level
p - The proportion in the target population is estimated to have a particular characteristic. If there is no reasonable estimate, then apply 50% (this study will use 0.50).
q = 1.0 – p
d = the degree of accuracy desired, here set at 0.05 corresponds to 1.96.
n=z 2 pq/d 2
In the computation, n= ((1.96 2 x 0.5 x (1-0.5))/0.05 2 = 384
Hence, 384 male and female students would take part in the survey.
Data Collection
The researcher would gather primary data by utilizing the online survey method. The study selected the SurveyMonkey.com to collected data since it is famous among most students and is user-friendly.
Data Analysis
The study used content analysis to examine the qualitative aspects of the emerging themes from the collected information regarding the correlation between exercise and anxiety. In analyzing the quantitative attributes of data gathered, the researcher introduced a Spearman’s Correlation to explore the nature of the correlation between physical exercise and anxiety in men and women. The stated hypotheses would then be tested by comparing the tabulated probability value (p-value) with the calculated p-value. The calculated p-value that is more than the tabulated value of p=0.05 at 95% confidence level would be rejected as it would be deemed insignificant to the present research.
The sample questionnaires for the online survey will ask the following questions:
1. Age of the respondents: [ ]
2. Sex [ ]
3. Do you participate in physical fitness activities?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
4. If [Yes] for question 3, state the nature of the exercise or physical activity
5. How many times in a week do you participate in exercise?
Once [ ]
Twice [ ]
Thrice [ ]
Four-five times [ ]
Everyday [ ]
6. Have you been anxious?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
7. If [Yes] for the above, state the cause of the anxiety
8. Do you agree that exercise can eradicate anxiety?
Strongly disagree [ ]
Disagree [ ]
Neutral [ ]
Agree [ ]
Strongly Agree [ ]
9. Suggest ways to mitigate anxiety through physical fitness
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Ethical Consideration
The researcher would first approach the administration of New York University (NYU) to grant the permission to proceed with the study. The second step would be getting the approval of the ethics and approval committee, and then the students’ consent would be sought. The participation is voluntary, but the researcher would encourage the sampled respondents to continue with the exercise since the confidentiality, and their anonymity would be maintained. Data deconstruction would eventually follow the completion of the exercise.
Results
The study used a Spearman’s correlation to obtain the following findings on the correlation between exercise and anxiety in men and women. Tables 1.1 and 1.2 present the results obtained from this investigation. Table 1.1 shows the nature of the correlation between physical exercise and anxiety while table 1.2 presents the strength of the correlation between physical exercise and anxiety in men and women
Table 1.1: H i : Correlation between Physical Exercise and Anxiety
| Variables Descriptor |
Exercise |
Anxiety |
||
|
Spearman's rho |
Exercise | Correlation Coefficient |
1.000 |
0.84 ** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) |
. |
.002 |
||
| N |
20 |
20 |
||
| Anxiety | Correlation Coefficient |
0.84 ** |
1.103 |
|
| Sig. (2-tailed) |
.002 |
. |
||
| N |
20 |
20 |
||
Table 1.2: H ii : Strength of the Correlation between Physical Exercise and Anxiety in Men and W omen
| Variables Descriptor |
Spearman’s rho |
||
|
Strength of the correlation |
Men | Correlation Coefficient |
0.86 ** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) |
. |
||
| N |
20 |
||
| Women | Correlation Coefficient |
0.79 ** |
|
| Sig. (2-tailed) |
.007 |
||
| N |
20 |
||
The computations have been done at a confidence level (CL) of 95%
All significant at p<.05
Discussion of Findings
The result on the correlation between physical fitness (exercise) and anxiety shows a shows a significant correlation, depicted by Spearman’s rho (r) = 0.84, p<0.05 at a confidence level of 95 percent, all significant at p<.05 (see table 1.1). Therefore, the hypothesis (H i ) which states that an increase in physical exercise leads to a reduction in the level of anxiety is accepted to be true since the computed p-value is less than p=0.05 at 95% confidence level ( all significant at p<.05 ). The finding confirms that engaging in regular exercise (activities of physical fitness) reduces the anxiety and thus promoting one’s physical and mental health. Hence, the findings support the empirical investigation by Johnson and Taliaferro (2011), which emphasized on the need for embracing physical fitness to contain depressive signs.
The findings obtained from the nature of strength of the correlation between exercise (physical fitness) and anxiety in men and women show a significantly stronger correlation in men than women, shown by Spearman’s rho Men (r) = 0.86 and Spearman’s rho Women (r ) = 0.79, p<0.05 at a confidence level of 95 percent ( all significant at p<.05 ) (see table 1.2). Men enjoy a stronger correlation of Men (r) = 0.86 than Women (r) = 0.79. Therefore, increasing more exercise or physical fitness in men would proportionately lead to a bigger reduction in the level of their anxiety. The variables are significant, and the hypothesis (H ii ) which states the correlation between physical exercise and anxiety is stronger in men than in women is accepted since the computed p-value is less than p=0.05 at 95% confidence level. The results confirm that supporting physical exercise among people of different gender would influence the magnitude of anxiety but at different rates. The finding provides room for further research to ascertain specific elements of gender that may influence the uptake of physical exercise to contain anxiety and improve the health status of individuals.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The study findings have ascertained that there is a significant correlation between exercise (physical fitness) and anxiety. The inverse relationship is one that the increase in the exercise or physical fitness leads to significant reduction in the anxiety level. The results confirm the hypothesis that increasing physical exercise helps to reduce the levels of anxiety. Nonetheless, the strength of the correlation differs among men and women as men tend to exhibit a stronger relationship between exercise and anxiety than in women. The variables used in this study are all significant as the tested hypotheses demonstrated the probability (p-values) of less than p=0.05 at 95% confidence level. Hence, exercise (physical fitness) is effective in containing anxiety. The research recommends for the introduction of more physical fitness activities or regular exercise to eradicate anxiety.
References
Carnevale, T. (2011). An integrative review of adolescent depression screening instruments: Applicability for use by school nurses. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing , 24 , 51–57.
Gillen, J. B.; Gibala, M. J. (2014). Is high-intensity interval training a time-efficient exercise strategy to improve health and fitness? Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 39 (3): 409–412.
Harvard University. (2011). Recognizing depression in men: Physical complaints,
substance abuse, and other stealth symptoms may mask the problem.
Harvard Mental Health Letter , 27(12), 4–5.
Johnson, K. E. & Taliaferro, L. A. (2011). Relationships between physical activity and depressive symptoms among middle and older adolescents: A review of the research literature. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 16 , 235–251
New York University (NYU, 2017). NYU At a Glance . Retrieved from https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/nyu-at-a-glance.html
Shiraev, T. & Barclay, G. (2012). Evidence based exercise – clinical benefits of high intensity interval training. Australian family physician, 41 (12): 960–2
Times Higher Education (2017). New York University . https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/new-york-university
Wiles, N. J., Haase, A. M., Lawlor, D. A., Ness, A., & Lewis, G. (2011). Physical activity and depression in adolescents: Cross-sectional findings from the ALSPAC cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology . Springer
