Exercise has been touted as a component of a healthy lifestyle, and now breast cancer survivors have two more reasons to make it a part of their life. A study has found that exercise reduces stress and memory problems among breast cancer survivors.
"We found moderate to vigorous physical activity actually benefits women psychologically and that, in turn, helps their memory," lead author Siobhan Phillips was quoted by The Sentinel as saying. "These women are frightened, stressed, fatigued, tapped out emotionally and have low self-confidence, which can be very mentally taxing and can lead to perceived memory problems," Phillips added.
Exercise improves memory in breast cancer survivors https://t.co/4mu84Gybui
— PsyPost.org (@PsyPost) July 10, 2016
Exercise Helped Breast Cancer Survivors
Phillips and her team looked into the records 1,800 breast cancer survivors and 362 of them had accelerometers which tracked their physical activity, according to a report from Maine News Online. Lower stress and fatigue was observed in the breast cancer survivors who had moderate or strong physical activity.
Lower stress and fatigue were said to be linked to lower levels of perceived memory impairment. Memory problems or the so-called "chemo brain" experienced by breast cancer survivors reportedly resulted from strong chemotherapy and radiation treatments for their breast cancer.
Exercise Could Be A Coping Mechanism
"Exercise may provide a way to cope with some of the stress experienced during and following a cancer diagnosis and may help women to feel more confident that they can cope with the cancer experience," said Phillips, as per Chicago Tribune. Phillips is an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
This study on breast cancer and exercise is reportedly "first study in any cancer group to examine the relationships among physical activity, psychosocial factors, confidence in the ability to exercise, and perceived memory problems." It was published in the journal Psycho-Oncology.
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