Correspondence (letter to the editor): Regular Muscle Activity

In treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) it should not remain unmentioned (1) that individually tailored endurance and strength training as a firm component of the overall treatment plan should be implemented increasingly, including in the outpatient setting (2). Regular muscle exercise has an anxiolytic effect in the acute and chronic settings. Movement related neurobiological adaptation processes seem to have a key part in this, including the increased expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor 1, ßxxx-endorphin, atrial natriuretic peptide, and serotonin, as do psychological factors such as self-efficacy and exposure (3). Patients with GAD are very likely to benefit even from simple, whole-body exercises, such as rising from a chair and sitting back down again, without using their arms to support them (10–15 repetitions, twice a day).