Effects of Tai Chi on anxiety and theta oscillation power in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial.
Journal
PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
Titre abrégé: PLoS One
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101285081
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2024
2024
Historique:
received:
10
03
2024
accepted:
02
10
2024
medline:
2
11
2024
pubmed:
2
11
2024
entrez:
1
11
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
College students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, face substantial psychological stress. This study investigates the impact of Tai Chi (TC) practice on anxiety levels and theta oscillatory power activation characteristics among college students, aiming to provide empirical evidence for their psychological well-being. In this randomized controlled trial with 45 healthy college students, brainwave activity and changes in anxiety levels were measured. A 2 (TC group vs control group)×2 (pre-test vs post-test) factorial design was analyzed to explore TC's regulatory effects on brainwave activity and anxiety. Following 12 weeks of TC practice, the TC group exhibited a significant decrease in state-trait anxiety differences (-6.14±14.33), state anxiety differences (-3.45±7.57), and trait anxiety differences (-2.68±7.43), contrasting with an increase in the control group. Moreover, contrasting with a decrease in the control group, TC group demonstrated significance increased theta oscillatory power in C3, C4, F4, P3, T7, and T8, and a significant negative correlations were observed between state anxiety and F4-θ (r = -0.31, p = 0.04), T7-θ (r = -0.43, p = 0.01), and T8-θ (r = -0.30, p = 0.05). The positive influence of TC on college students' psychological well-being and brain function is evident, leading to reduced anxiety levels and increased theta oscillatory activity. While encouraging further research to delve into the mechanisms of TC on anxiety and theta brainwave characteristics, the study recommends actively promoting TC practice among college students to enhance mental health and address post-pandemic psychological challenges.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
College students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, face substantial psychological stress. This study investigates the impact of Tai Chi (TC) practice on anxiety levels and theta oscillatory power activation characteristics among college students, aiming to provide empirical evidence for their psychological well-being.
METHODS
METHODS
In this randomized controlled trial with 45 healthy college students, brainwave activity and changes in anxiety levels were measured. A 2 (TC group vs control group)×2 (pre-test vs post-test) factorial design was analyzed to explore TC's regulatory effects on brainwave activity and anxiety.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Following 12 weeks of TC practice, the TC group exhibited a significant decrease in state-trait anxiety differences (-6.14±14.33), state anxiety differences (-3.45±7.57), and trait anxiety differences (-2.68±7.43), contrasting with an increase in the control group. Moreover, contrasting with a decrease in the control group, TC group demonstrated significance increased theta oscillatory power in C3, C4, F4, P3, T7, and T8, and a significant negative correlations were observed between state anxiety and F4-θ (r = -0.31, p = 0.04), T7-θ (r = -0.43, p = 0.01), and T8-θ (r = -0.30, p = 0.05).
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
The positive influence of TC on college students' psychological well-being and brain function is evident, leading to reduced anxiety levels and increased theta oscillatory activity. While encouraging further research to delve into the mechanisms of TC on anxiety and theta brainwave characteristics, the study recommends actively promoting TC practice among college students to enhance mental health and address post-pandemic psychological challenges.
Identifiants
pubmed: 39485780
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312804
pii: PONE-D-24-02481
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Randomized Controlled Trial
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
e0312804Informations de copyright
Copyright: © 2024 Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.