Therapeutic Effectiveness of Minimal Activity in an Aged Population

Abstract

The effectiveness of minimal activity (most often 1 hr. per week) on anxiety was studied by comparing veterans who regularly attended and those who irregularly attended an activity on a measure of anxiety taken before and after 6 wk. participation on various history measures. Veterans who regularly attended their activity assignments showed significant decline in anxiety or improvement in adjustment; veterans who irregularly attended their activity assignments showed no change in anxiety or adjustment. With the exception of changes in anxiety, and the possibility that the irregular group had a higher percentage of people hospitalized for nervousness, the two groups were similar in every characteristic studied, including their anxiety prior to activity assignment.

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