Stress relief at work may do the heart good

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Stress management training at work may not only ease workers' minds, but less pressure on their hearts as well, new research published on Monday suggests.

In a study of white-collar workers facing possible layoffs, researchers found that those who underwent stress management training reported improvements in anxiety and fatigue.

What's more, they showed small improvements in their heart rate variability and blood pressure, the study authors report in Hypertension, a journal published by the American Heart Association.

Heart rate variability refers to the beat-to-beat fluctuations in the heart's rhythm, which is believed to reflect the autonomic nervous system's regulation of the heart.

In this study, stressed workers showed signs of nervous system "imbalance," senior study author Dr. Massimo Pagani of the University of Milan told Reuters Health.

That is, the "excitatory arm" of the autonomic nervous system, which increases heart rate, was working overtime, as compared with a group of healthy, non-stressed adults. At the same time, the calming arm of the autonomic nervous system, which lowers heart rate, appeared to be inhibited in workers.

This type of autonomic imbalance is seen in people with high blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions, Pagani said.

To see whether stress relief could help restore nervous system balance, he and his colleagues offered 51 workers weekly stress management classes. About half chose to take a year's worth of classes, while the rest opted only to receive information on dealing with stress.

Workers in the stress management group learned various relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises and muscle relaxation, and honed their stress-coping skills.

After one year, the researchers found, workers who took the classes showed improvements in their heart rate variability -- a sign of greater autonomic balance -- as well as a decline in their average blood pressure reading.

The classes were all held during workers' lunch hour, and Pagani said the findings show that it's feasible to offer stress training on the job without interfering with the normal work schedule.

More studies, with larger groups of workers, are needed to see whether workplace stress management is widely effective, he said.

SOURCE: Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, online January 8, 2007.