The Effects of Physical Activity on Cardiovascular Reactivity to Stress in College Students

Stress is part of everyday life. Chronic stress can be a contributor to many physiological and psychological health problems. Chronic stress is also related to hyperreactivity to acute stress. PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to investigate whether students with low, moderate, and high levels of physical activity (PA) have distinct cardiovascular responses to the cold pressor test (CPT). METHODS: College students (n=14; f=5) were given the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to assess their physical activity levels. After the assessment, participants were set up to the FINAPRES with an arm cuff and finger cuff to record their beat-by-beat cardiovascular responses. Participants underwent a 10-minute resting period for baseline assessment, followed by the 2-minute CPT, then immediately into a 5-minute recovery phase. RESULTS: The area under the curve (AUC) showed higher values of heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DPB) throughout the CPT and recovery for students with low levels of PA. The high PA group showed a faster recovery for all parameters in comparison to the other groups. This group, although highly responsive to stress and recovery, did not show without alarming increases in any parameter when analyzing absolute and delta results. The low PA group showed an unexpected drop in blood pressure in the first 30 seconds of the CPT. The drop was followed by a substantial increase in both SBP and DBP. This group was responsive to the stress with a significant higher peak in absolute values for SBP, with an average of ~25 mmHg above the other groups. The moderate PA group showed a mild response to the test, with shy elevations and drops in all parameters during the CPT and recovery, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, PA seems to play an important role regulating the cardiovascular responses to stress. People with low levels of PA seems to highly responsive with an alarming peak in cardiovascular parameters, whereas people with high levels of PA are equally responsive but without an alarming peak and faster recovery. Additionally, people with moderate levels of PA seem to be at a reduced cardiovascular risk when compared to low levels of PA, but they also do not seem to benefit from the fast physiological responses observed in the high PA group.