State Anxiety and Worry Responses to a Single Sprint Before and After Sprint Interval Training

There has been continued interest in the anxiolytic effects of diverse and non-traditional exercise modes. However, the acute and chronic effects of sprint interval training (SIT) on anxiety and worry are not well known, and the degree to which chronic SIT changes the acute response to a single sprint is untested. PURPOSE: This study quantified state anxiety and worry responses to a single sprint (Wingate), state anxiety and worry responses to three weeks of SIT, and, the extent to which chronic SIT changed acute responses to a single sprint. METHODS: Eighteen healthy young adult males (25.2±3.6 y) completed a single 30s Wingate at 7.5% body mass before and after a 3-wk SIT intervention comprised of nine sessions of 4-6 sprints. Acute and chronic effects of SIT on state anxiety, worry, and worry engagement were assessed with the State subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, respectively. Paired t-tests quantified pre-training acute responses and training responses (i.e., baseline to post-SIT); magnitude of change was quantified with standardized mean difference (d). RM-ANOVA examined differences between pre-training and post-training acute responses. The magnitude of change in acute responses was quantified with Hedges’ d effect sizes. RESULTS: At pre-training, state anxiety was significantly increased (t17=-2.34, p≤0.032) and worry engagement was significantly decreased (t17=3.14, p≤0.006) following a single sprint. Small-to-moderate magnitude reductions were found for worry engagement (d=0.37) and worry (d=0.18), and a small-to-moderate magnitude increase was found for state anxiety (d=-0.36). No statistically significant changes were found for state anxiety, worry, or worry engagement following SIT (all p>0.23); however, small magnitude reductions were found for state anxiety (d=0.11), worry (d=0.26), and worry engagement (d=0.21). Following SIT, a statistically non-significant small magnitude attenuation (d=0.14) of state anxiety response to a single sprint was found. CONCLUSION: Findings provide proof of principle that even a single high-intensity sprint can acutely perturb state anxiety and improve worry. Short-term SIT may elicit improved resting levels of anxiety and worry and response to a single high-intensity sprint in healthy young men.