Effects of Tai Chi on anxiety and theta oscillation power in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial

• Published in: PloS one 2024-11, Vol.19 (11), p.e0312804
• Main Authors: Wang, Min, Chi, Shuxun, Wang, Xingze, Wang, Tongling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain research; Care and treatment; Causes of; Clinical trials; College students; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - psychology; Electric properties; Electrodes; Electroencephalography; Emotions; Exercise; Factorial design; Female; Humans; Hypotheses; Intervention; Male; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Meditation; Mental disorders; Pandemics; Physical fitness; Psychological aspects; Psychological factors; Psychological stress; Questionnaires; SARS-CoV-2; Social Sciences; Stress (Psychology); Stress, Psychological - therapy; Students; Students - psychology; T'ai chi ch'uan; Tai Ji; Theta Rhythm - physiology; Universities; Well being; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312804

College students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, face substantial psychological stress. This study investigates the impact of Tai Chi (TC) practice on anxiety levels and theta oscillatory power activation characteristics among college students, aiming to provide empirical evidence for their psychological well-being. In this randomized controlled trial with 45 healthy college students, brainwave activity and changes in anxiety levels were measured. A 2 (TC group vs control group)×2 (pre-test vs post-test) factorial design was analyzed to explore TC's regulatory effects on brainwave activity and anxiety. Following 12 weeks of TC practice, the TC group exhibited a significant decrease in state-trait anxiety differences (-6.14±14.33), state anxiety differences (-3.45±7.57), and trait anxiety differences (-2.68±7.43), contrasting with an increase in the control group. Moreover, contrasting with a decrease in the control group, TC group demonstrated significance increased theta oscillatory power in C3, C4, F4, P3, T7, and T8, and a significant negative correlations were observed between state anxiety and F4-θ (r = -0.31, p = 0.04), T7-θ (r = -0.43, p = 0.01), and T8-θ (r = -0.30, p = 0.05). The positive influence of TC on college students' psychological well-being and brain function is evident, leading to reduced anxiety levels and increased theta oscillatory activity. While encouraging further research to delve into the mechanisms of TC on anxiety and theta brainwave characteristics, the study recommends actively promoting TC practice among college students to enhance mental health and address post-pandemic psychological challenges.