International Journal of Sport Studies. Vol., 5 (3), 309-315, 2015
Available online at http: www.ijssjournal.com
ISSN 2251-7502 © 2015; Science Research Publications
Regular Aerobic Exercises Compared to Non- Athletes on the Mental
Health of Postmenopausal Women Mahshahr City
Masumeh Norouzpour*, (Msc) Lena Motalebi (PhD)
Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shoushtar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shoushtar,
Iran
*Corresponding Author, Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Background: Menopause is a natural process of aging in the lives of the
women occurred due to the cessation of the menstruation following the loss
of the ovarian activities leading to the increased physiological and
psychological changes and can have some effects on the health and the
quality life of the women. The current study has been performed to determine
the effects of eight -week regular aerobic exercises on the mental health of
the menopausal women.
Methodology: this study is a quasi-experimental and practical research and its
implementation method is the pre-test and post-test field method and using
both experimental and control groups (n=30). To assess the mental health of
the women, there has been used the general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) of
Goldberg &Hiller. Then, there has been performed the regular aerobic
exercises for eight weeks, three times a week and every session consists 60
minutes on the experimental group. To analyze the raw data statistically,
there have been used the descriptive and inferential statistics of the
independent-t and dependent-t and then used ANOVA test in MANOVA text
to determine the position of the differences.
Findings: the statistical test showed that there has been the significant
difference on the mental health of the control and experimental groups after
eight- week regular aerobic exercises (p<0.05).
Conclusion: the results of this study showed that the regular aerobic exercises
have the significant effect on the health mental level of the non- athlete
menopausal women.
Key words: mental health, menopausal women, aerobic exercise
Introduction
Menopause has been considered as one of the most critical stages of the lives of the women affecting their
quality of life (Bahri and et al, 2013). This transitional stage is known the end of the productive stage in the life
of a woman and occurs when the menstrual cycle stops. Starting this stage, Estrogen produced irregularly. Its
production has some swings and then declines. Such a situation has been called pre menopause. Menopause is
not a disease but is a natural and physiological state and the age of the onset is variable (Mardokhi, 2009). The
start up the menopause is a new stage in the lives of the women; although, many women believe that the
menopause is the decline stage, disability, oblivion and loneliness (Shahidi, 1994). Night sweats, headaches,
irritability and nervousness, impaired memory, depression, palpitations and cardiovascular disease,
hypertension, diabetes, dry skin, muscle and joint pain, poor sleep, fatigue, anxiety and fear are some factors
which may cause the negative attitudes in the women (Hematkhah, 2005). Upon the appearance of the first
symptoms of the menopause, the women feel that they lose their femininity passion and love and become
indifferent towards the sexual relations. Some postmenopausal women are so terrified this stage that they will
lose their mental balance and feel depression, anxiety and social dysfunction (Taleghani, 1995).
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The psychological effects of the menopause have caused to form this erroneous belief that the menopause is
a mental state but it is quite wrong that the menopause has the physical origin that the doctors and the public
should pay attention to this undeniable truth. Sometimes the mental excitations have occurred in some women
so that their biological systems, in addition to mental disorders, break down. Most doctors have known this
psychological development as the menopause action (Taleghani, 1995).
Depression is the most common behavioral disorder. This is despite the fact that the women have been
affected by the depression more than the men. Some researchers have reported that the changes of estrogen and
progesterone levels can be one of the reasons for the changeable moods in the women because the estrogen is
directly linked to the serotonin production in the body. This chemical substance in the brain causes to regulate
the moods in the women (Samadani Fard, 2013). It seems that some women are vulnerable during periods of
high hormonal changes such as the transition to menopause stage or the childbirth time. Therefore, sudden
hormonal changes have affected the moods and behaviors through changing the balance between some
neurotransmitters of the brain. This characteristic can justify the increase of the depression appearance during
pre menopause stage (when the hormonal changes are high) towards post menopause stage (when the estrogen
level is low but fixed).
Another description on the depression of the menopause is the Domino hypothesis. According to this
hypothesis, the annoyance derive by the physical symptoms of the pre menopause including the night sweats
and feeling hot (related to vasomotor system) can stimulate, like the beads of the domino game, some physical
changes such as sleep disorder. These changes affect the mood stability (Monajemi, 2014).
Some factors have the effective impact on the depression during the menopause including personal and
cultural issues, previous history of depression, education and regular physical activity, premenstrual syndrome,
the wife, the economic level, smoking, occupation and adaptation to living conditions (Shojayian, 2007). The
researches have shown that most persons with the depression suffer from the sleep disorders and there is a
relation between the insomnia and the depression. The symptoms of the psychological disorders and the sleep
problems are often entwined and the sleep disorders are common in the psychological diseases and can lead to
the daytime sleepiness and other symptoms and can exacerbate the mental problems. In fact, sleep disorders can
cause the mental disorders. (Mardookhi, 2009). It should be noted that studies have shown that sleep disorder is
one of the symptoms of menopause. (Jalili et al., 2014) and insomnia with the continuous changes of the
hormones causes to form the dizziness in the menopause women. The dizziness can be the result of the sleep
disorders that is common before the menopause. The fluctuation of the hormone levels can also create the
dizziness. However, this situation is temporary and it removes usually after the menopause by fixing the
hormones (Gharibi, 2014).
Anxiety is another common symptom in the creation of the pre-menopause caused by the low estrogen level.
The reduction of Endorphin and Serotonin associated with the low level of estrogen causes to create the anxiety.
According to another theory, the decline of estrogen, serotonin and endorphin has caused that the person
becomes vulnerable to the emotional stresses and cannot confront to the stressful situations successfully and this
issue will be led to the anxiety (Gharibi, 2014). The daily mental or emotional stresses such as the death of the
relatives, family violence, unemployment, loneliness and stressful job situations can also affect the persons
(Malek Mahmoodi, 2008) that have important effects on the emotions, desires, values and the aims of the
persons (Robins and et al, 2002). Having high self-esteem and self- efficacy cause to increase the ability,
capacity, capability and quality of life and the person feels having effective life. This matter in the menopause
women is more important because the studies show that the sense of worth and self- efficacy can increase the
efficiency and the independence in the women and can help them to control the menopausal complications with
different treatments (Mohamadi Zidi and et al, 2014).
Today, sports and the physical activities have been highly regarded as a therapeutic technique (Zarshenas
and et al, 2009) and have been known as a positive factor to increase the sense of well- being, self esteem and
the social adjustments (Mohamadi Nasrabad, 2011). The researchers have believed that the physical activities,
through a number of mental and psychological mechanisms such as the increase of self- efficacy, behavioral
activation, the sense of success and the prevention of the negative moods, have affected the mental health (Air
and et al, 2012). On the other hand, the participation of the persons in the physical activities cause that they
close to each other and gain so many opportunities to be skilled in the society (Firoozabadi, 2000). Therefore,
the researchers have increasingly paid attention to the control of the menopausal symptoms by using the
behavioral approaches such as participating in the physical activities (Tartibian and et al, 2010). Then, the
aerobic exercises are the basic way to protect the health and well being of the humans. The aerobic exercises
have been performed in the form of the regular motor sets with the special rhythm and plan in order to improve
the quality life of the persons and increase their tolerance, patience and optimism (Mohamadi Nasabad, 2011).
Aerobic exercises give the persons some chance to express their particular ways. An important part of this
physical activity is associated to new forms and motions. The persons are thinking about new activities to
experience the innovative ways. Aerobic exercises help the persons to improve their self- esteem, confidence,
the social relations and mental status and reinforce the sense of teamwork and cooperation and reduce the
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anxieties derived by the life and the workplace (Veisi, 2010). The studies have shown that the physical exercises
and sports increase the abilities of the people to deal with the stress and the depression and organize their
feelings and thoughts. Also, the physical activities have some effect on Melatonin level (sleep regulation
hormone) in the body and lead to a tranquil sleep (Parisa Gharibi, 2014). Therefore, all mentioned factors have
the positive effects on the mental health of non- athlete postmenopausal women.
Materials and Methods
This study is a quasi-experimental and practical research and its implementation method is the pre-test and
post-test field method and using both experimental and control groups (n=30) that are 53 menopause women
aged 45-60. They have participated in this study after the call. Among them, 30 patients were eligible to
participate in the study. All of them had experienced the symptoms of the menopause and the cessation of the
menstruation and they were able physically to participate in the sports activities. In addition, those suffered from
the surgery or the illness or were menopause prematurely or have the severe physical problems such as the knee
pain have not involved in the study. First of all, the forms of cooperation were distributed among the
participations based on their opinions about the study and then the demographic questionnaires and the general
health questionnaires (GHQ) had been completed. Then, eight week regular aerobic exercises including simple
aerobic, aerobics and step aerobics and aerobics with the ball have been performed three times a week, each
session lasting 60 minutes on the experimental group. The control group did not participate in any exercise
program. After eight weeks, both groups were evaluated due to the mental health.
Results
Distribution of the demographic characteristics of the studied menopausal women
group
control
Practice
total
Table 1: Age distribution of the subjects based on the Year
numbers
mean
Standard deviation
least
15
50.46
4.71
45
15
52.60
4.86
45
30
51.53
4.83
45
most
60
60
60
As seen in table 1, the mean age of the participations in the control group and the practice group is 50.46 and
52.60, respectively. Also, the standard deviation in the control group and practice group is 4.71 and 4.86,
respectively.
group
control
Practice
total
Table 2: Length distribution of the subjects based on CM
numbers
mean
Standard deviation
least
15
160.80
4.27
154
15
163.07
3.57
154
30
163.55
4.04
154
most
168
168
168
As seen in table 2, the length mean of the participation in the control group and the practice group is 160.80
and 163.07, respectively. Also, the standard deviation in two groups is 4.27 and 3.57, respectively.
group
control
Practice
total
Table 3: Weight distribution of the subjects based in KG
numbers
mean
Standard deviation
least
15
84.20
10.07
63
15
81.80
9.46
60
30
83.00
9.68
63
most
98
102
102
As seen in table 2, the weight mean of the participation in the control group and the practice group is 84.20
and 81.80, respectively. Also, the standard deviation in two groups is 10.07 and 9.46, respectively.
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Table 4: Distribution of marital status of the subjects
index
Control group
Practice group
Marital
single
1
0
status
married
13
14
divorced
1
1
total
15
15
total
1
27
2
30
As seen in table 4, in the control group is 1 single person, 13 married persons and 1 divorced person. In the
practice group, there is no single person but 14 married persons and 1 divorced person.
Table 5: Distribution of the mental health subscales of the subjects during pre-test and post-test
Physical
complain
12.86
3.18
12.66
3.19
9.40
2.19
9.33
3.41
practice
15
12.00
4.03
13.33
3.47
9.80
2.73
9.46
4.45
control
15
12.86
3.31
12.66
3.24
9.40
2.41
10.00
3.81
practice
15
9.53
3.29
9.46
2.92
6.33
2.41
5.86
3.87
mean
mean
mean
mean
Depression
Social
dysfunction
Anxiety and
insomnia
Physical
complain
Depression
Social
dysfunction
Anxiety and
insomnia
Physical
complain
Pre-test
Standard
deviation
15
‫ﮐﻨﺘﺮ‬
‫ل‬
depression
Standard
deviation
control
Control
Social
dysfunction
Standard
deviation
Pretest
Posttest
Anxiety and
insomnia
Standard
deviation
group
number
stage
Post-test
practice
Frequency, the mean and the standard deviation of mental health subscales of the subjects have been shown
during the pre-test and post- test in table 4 and figure 4. As you see in the table 5, after one period of the
physical activities, there has been observed some reduction in each subscale of the mental health.
To clarify the position of the differences, there has been used one way ANOVA test in MANOA. The results
have been shown in Table 6.
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component
Table6: the results of one way ANOVA variance in MANOA
Sum of squares Freedom degree
Mean square
F level
Physical
complain
Anxiety and
insomnia
Social
dysfunction
depression
45.63
1
45.63
23.77
Significance
level
0.000
112.13
1
112.13
79.02
0.000
90.13
1
90.13
45.28
0.000
136.53
1
136.53
45.01
0.000
Discussion and Conclusion
According to the results of the current study, the regular aerobic exercises has the significant impact on the
mental health of the non-athlete menopause women in the experimental group compared to the control group
(p<0.05).
Nowadays, due to the opinions of the public health specialists, the physiological process of the menopause
may have some signs and symptoms that affect the life of the person and may be harmful for the person. The
changes in longevity and the increased life expectancy have made the women to spend more than a third of their
lives in the menopausal period. Then, the complications are more tangible and it has been considered by the
health groups of the community (Nazem Ekbatani and et al, 2012). The fluctuation of the hormone levels cause
the emotional imbalance in the women, before and after menopause, and the reduction of estrogen level have
some effects on their emotional and mental health. In some women, these symptoms are so severe prevented the
social relations, career and happiness in them (Gharibi, 2014). The results of previous studies and the current
study show that the physical activities and sports can improve the mental health of the persons and these
activities can create the positive changes in the interpersonal relationships and social networks of the people.
Such changes are effective for the mental health. Also, the physical activities are considered as the release agent
from the negative emotions and motivations in the persons leading to the improvement of the psychological
symptoms in the persons (Mohamadi Nasrabad, 2011). In fact, the sports, as the most powerful antidepressant
drug, are the main factor to create the balance in the body which has been considered as a tranquilizer to
produce the energy (Fakhrian, 2003) and possibly by activating the central nervous system and releasing
endorphin can raise the moods of the persons (Sardar and et al, 2010).
Due to the obtained findings, the aerobic exercises have the significant impact on the mental health of nonathlete menopausal women. This research is consistent with the research findings of Fateme Rasoli and et al
(2005), Neda and et al (2008), Yovada and Tokanaga (2000), I. C. Jolegil and et al (2010), Kan and et al (2010).
Also, the regular aerobic exercises have the significant effect on the subscales including the physical complains,
anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction and depression in the menopause women. The results of this study are
consistent with the studies of Nasrin Baghdari and et al (2010), Lida Jalili and et al (2014), Zahra Jami Abed
Moghadam and et al (2010), King and et al (2003), Narjes Bahri and et al (2013), Hala M. Emara and et al
(2013), Yang and et al (2004). This study is not consistent with the study of Zahra Shojaian and et al (2007).
The reason can be likely attributed to the limitations of the practices, the severity of the practices and the types
of the practices.
As a whole, the results of this study showed that eight week regular aerobic exercises can create the positive
psychological changes in the women and can improve their life quality during menopause. Thus, the women
have been advised to include the aerobic exercises in their daily activities in order to maintain the mental health,
prevent diseases, increase longevity and improve the motivation and social activities.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest
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