4 Holistic Ways Physical Activity Can Optimize Warfighter Stress
Written by Whitney Tramel
MS, CSCSD, TSAC-F*D
I’m going to start off with two scenarios:
Scenario 1
SGT Smith works an intel role in the military that requires a high cognitive load of focus, precision, and attention to detail. He’s got varying deadlines coming up that he’s afraid he won’t meet. At home, SGT Smith is struggling with finances and recently had a family member pass.
Scenario 2
SGT Clark has been struggling with a high OPTEMPO of frequent combat deployments. Because of this, his spouse nags and complains he isn’t home enough. SGT Clark also has a shoulder injury that he keeps thinking will “just go away” and he keeps getting sick a lot.
Who do you think is more stressed here?
If you guessed BOTH… you are correct!
Stress Defined
Stress, or a shock to the system, can be triggered in a variety of ways: exercise, traumatic events, environment, extreme cold or heat, perception of threat, or simply just our thoughts and emotions.
At the end of the day, the stress we experience is ultimately how we PERCEIVE our environment or circumstance to be impacting us. If both SGT Smith and SGT Clark perceive their situations to be highly stressful – no matter what you may think of it – they’re experiencing stress that may be negatively impacting their ability to perform their job. Not only that, the stressors we experience have negative effects on our health and wellness, our physical fitness and task performance, and increases our risk of injury and illnesses.
Stress Optimization
So what can we do to potentially optimize the stress we’re experiencing?
“There is always stress, so the only point is to make sure it is useful to yourself and others.”
First, it is important to know that stress CAN be and IS good for us.
The Yerkes-Dodson principle, or the Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF), suggests that performance increases with mental arousal (aka stress), but only up to a certain point. When our stress is too little or too much, performance begins to deteriorate. When we experience too little stress, we feel inactive and bored and have little to no motivation to perform. On the contrary, when we have too much stress, we begin to feel fatigue, exhaustion, and experience performance anxiety. With the right amount of stress, we will perform optimally.
The amount of stress one may need to experience will vary greatly from task to task. For example—the stress someone may need to feel to go into a firefight varies greatly from the stress I need to write this blog.
Physical Activity for Stress Optimization
So now the question becomes, “How do I return to or maintain my optimal zone of stress when I have experienced too little or too much?” I’m going to go over 4 ways physical activity can help manage—or optimize our stress.
1. Physical Readiness
The long-term health and resilience of the warfighter is dependent upon their ability to tolerate demands of the job and respond to stressors over time.
Despite physical activity and exercise being a stressor itself, it can also play a role in optimizing stress. We know from the research that prior exposure to stressors (physical, environmental, or emotional) can lead to increased performance.
Additionally, multiple studies have shown that higher levels of physical fitness prior to involvement in a stressful scenario may mitigate the decreases in performance we may experience. This is namely because we are already adapted to a stressor and are better able to use stress to our advantage. When we expose ourselves to something that is perceivably hard or challenging, or stressful, such as intense physical activity, we are better able to adapt to other situations that are challenging or stressful.
2. Mental and Emotional Readiness
Physical activity can play a key role in our ability to regulate stress and emotions.
Unfortunately, many military personnel and veterans live with chronic mental health conditions that often do not respond well to pharmacological agents—leading to widespread efforts to study and promote non-pharmacological and behavioral health and stress management treatments.
Yoga, running, resistance training, and hiking/being active outdoors (just to name a few) have all been seen to increase emotional readiness and resilience. Yoga and mindfulness-based practices have been seen in the research to help reduce physiological symptoms associated with stress, such as: decreases in resting heart rate, cortisol, blood pressure, and reduced blood pressure and cholesterol.
Running has been shown to have an overall positive effect on general anxiety and performed better than anxiety medication in increasing both physical and mental health variables. Additionally, strength and resistance training has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD and increase general mental health and quality of life.
3. Social Readiness
A strong social support system can be a major key in helping manage the stressors we experience.
Those with a strong social support system tend to report feeling happier and less stressed. It also increases our likelihood of sticking to a goal and pushing through something challenging we may be experiencing. This support can come from romantic relationships, friendships, familial relationships, or even co-workers.
We can work on building strong bonds and relationships through physical activity and enduring something challenging together. This can look like partner workouts in the gym, going for a team run, or creating a competition for the group to complete that involves a challenge for everyone.
4. Spiritual Readiness
Physical activity and exercise can help us find meaning and purpose in life, as well as help with our self-efficacy (our belief in our ability to perform well).
For me personally, I know when I’m getting stronger/faster, it ties into all other aspects of my life where I’m able to put myself out there and pursue things that would make me happier and decrease the stress I’m experiencing.
Physical activity also increases our sense of gratitude, which can decrease our stress. Simply being grateful to have the capability to train and workout because some folks maybe aren’t capable– and I think that’s something a lot of people take for granted.
I also want to include here– being outdoors. “Nature bathing,” or mindfully spending time in nature, has been shown to fight symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, and boost your immune system. Being outdoors can also help you get back to your sense of self and further help you find your purpose.
WHITNEY TRAMEL
@whitneytramel_ @wildstrengthpodcast
Whitney Tramel is a human performance consultant and educator. Whitney has spent time as a strength and conditioning coach, having worked with a variety of athletes at the high school and collegiate level but has spent most of her time coaching in the tactical setting with military and fire.
Gaining a greater understanding of the stressor’s tactical personnel face and their impact on performance led her to pursuing a PhD at Bond University with the Tactical Research Unit. Her research emphasis is examining physiological stress in high stress tasks and environments. Outside of school and work, she enjoys the great outdoors Colorado has to offer and is an avid bowhunter.
Whitney also hosts the Wild Strength Podcast!
Listen HERE on Spotify.
