Acute High-Intensity Exercise Reduces Performance Anxiety: A Pilot Study in Wind Musicians

Background. Musicians’ sympathetic arousal needed to deal with an extraordinary event (e.g., a demanding concert) can become a neurophysiological alteration known as Musical Performance Anxiety, an important health problem. Objectives. This study aimed to find whether high-intensity interval training (HIIT) might reduce the anxiety in musicians after acute training. Methods. Ten young wind instrument musicians (23.00 ± 4.88 years; 78.86 ± 11.46 kg) performed two concerts in one week. Forty-eight hours after the first concert, they underwent a magnetic roller training session to get tested and familiarized, and again 48 hours later, they conducted 2-to-4 bouts of 30-second all-out workout, interspersed with 4 minutes of recovery, between the two concerts. Self-reporting methods (STAI, CSAI-2R) and physiological methods (Heart Rate Variability) were used to test anxiety reduction. Results. Pre-post exercise comparisons revealed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in both questionnaires. Regarding heart rate variability, Friedman Anova tests revealed also significant differences in Low Frequency (LF; p < 0.05), Low Frequency/High Frequency ratio (LFHF; p < 0.01), Root Mean Square of successive normal R-R intervals (RMSSD; p = 0.01), Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA1; p < 0.01) and Sample Entropy (SampEn; p < 0.01) after HIIT. Conclusion. After the training, the HRV indices’ improvement could confirm the hypothesis of parasympathetic reactivation and a better vagal balance as much in the last moment as during the performance. Acute high-intensity exercise may be an efficient solution in the short term for the anxiety problems that musicians suffer in their intense careers.