Light exercise can beat tiredness

8 March, 2008

What do you normally do when you feel fatigued? Take rest, naturally.

But resting is no solution for those suffering from frequent fatigue. On the contrary, doing regular, low-intensity exercise does help in pepping up energy levels, recent research has revealed.

Fatigue, one of the most common health symptoms, can be a sign of a variety of medical problems. Interestingly, about 1 in 4 people suffers from general fatigue that is not associated with any serious medical condition.

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia, the United States, has found that light exercises such as a leisurely stroll can raise energy levels by 20% and lower fatigue by 65%.

However, patients suffering from fatigue due to serious medical conditions – such as those with chronic fatigue syndrome – were not included in the study.

Tim Puetz, who was associated with the study, wrote in the February 2008 issue of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics: “Too often we believe that a quick workout will leave us worn out, especially when we are already feeling fatigued. However, we have shown that regular exercise can
actually go a long way in increasing feelings of energy, particularly in sedentary individuals.”

“Why exercise helps fatigue is not clear,” Dr Puetz added. “The findings suggest that exercise acts directly on the central nervous system to increase energy and reduce fatigue. Notably, the improvements in energy and fatigue were not related to increases in aerobic fitness.”

The team from University of Georgia’s Exercise Psychology Laboratory studied 36 people who did not exercise regularly and who said they were always fatigued.

The subjects were divided into three groups: The first group did 20 minutes of moderately intense exercise on an exercise bike three times a week for
six weeks; the second group did similar workouts but at a much more leisurely pace; the third did no exercise at all.

It was found that the groups which did low-intensity exercise and moderate-intensity exercise had a 20% increase in energy levels compared to the group which did not exercise.

The researchers said they were surprised to discover that the group with the low-intensity exercise reported better decline in fatigue than those who
worked out harder. They explained this in their paper in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics thus, “It could be that moderate-intensity exercise is too much for people who are already fatigued and that might contribute to them not getting as great an improvement as they would had they done the low-intensity exercise.”

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