Comparison of the Effects of Aerobic versus Resistance Exercise on the Autonomic Nervous System in Middle-Aged Women: A Randomized Controlled Study

Chae Kwan Lee, Jae-Hoon Lee and Min-Seong Ha
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Chae Kwan Lee: Department of Physical Therapy, Catholic University of Pusan, 57 Oryundae-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Pusan 46252, Korea
Jae-Hoon Lee: Department of Sports Science, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02504, Korea
Min-Seong Ha: Department of Sports Culture, College of the Arts, Dongguk University-Seoul, 30 Pildong-ro 1-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04620, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-10

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the changes in the autonomic nervous system in middle-aged women induced by aerobic and resistance exercise. A randomized controlled design was adopted; 22 premenopausal middle-aged women were divided into the resistance training and aerobic exercise groups ( n = 11 each). Each group followed a specific 60 min exercise program three times a week for 12 weeks. The participants’ heart rate variability (HRV) was measured to analyze the low(LF)- and high-frequency (HF) activity, and the LF/HF ratio was calculated to examine the autonomic nervous system’s activities. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of resistance and aerobic exercise. LF activity significantly increased in both the resistance training ( p < 0.001) and aerobic exercise ( p < 0.5) groups, indicating a significant variation according to time effect. HF activity was significantly increased only in resistance training ( p < 0.001) with a significant variation in time ( p < 0.001) and an interaction effect ( p < 0.01). The LF/HF ratio did not vary significantly in either group. The findings in this study suggest that both aerobic exercise and resistance training were effective for sympathetic nerve activities in middle-aged women and that the effects on the sympathetic and parasympathetic activities were greater for resistance training.

Keywords: autonomic nervous system; resistance training; aerobic exercise; sympathetic nerve; parasympathetic nerve; middle-aged women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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