Physical Exercises Release More Happy Chemicals When Practiced in Groups (Study)

Healthcare experts are already encouraging people to integrate physical exercises in their daily routine. However, new research indicates that working out in groups can make practitioners insert this activity into their list of habits that make them happy. People who exercise alone are releasing fewer endorphins also known as happy chemicals into their body than those participants in a Zumba class.

Fitness Group Members Reported Improved Quality of Life Criteria after 12 Weeks of CXWORX Program

The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association has just released a new study on the quality of life group training implies. The main findings indicate that those persons who work out in a group are experiencing 26% more stress relief than those who work out alone.

The new research followed 69 medical students closely in their fitness activities. These students are usually known for the high source of stress they are exposed to. They usually report a low quality of life which made them perfect for an experiment that searched a link between happiness and physical exercises.

The members of group training enrolled in a CXWORX course. This means core strength and functional fitness program. This routine required at least one session of 30 minutes each week.

On the other hand, those students who chose to go with individual programs had the freedom to take up whichever kind of training they wanted. However, the requirement was for them to exercise alone or with up to two partners.

The experiment lasted for 12 weeks while students received a survey every four weeks. At the end of the period, those in the fitness group reported improvements in all levels.

Their mental health increased by 12.6%, physical health experienced a 24.8% boost, while their emotional health grew by 26%. There was also a 26.2% reduction in the level of stress that students perceived. Overall, they generated more happy chemicals or endorphins than the others.

Study Authors Recommend Physicians to Take Up Fitness Classes to Generate more Happy Chemicals

As for the individual training, participants reported a tendency to train twice as much as the fitness group. However, only their mental health experienced a boost of 11%. The rest of criteria for quality of life remained unchanged.

However, the authors of the study are still encouraging any type of physical exercise. On the other hand, they would recommend those with stressful carriers such as physicians to join fitness courses more often.

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