Prevention of Negative Psycho-Emotional States in Female Military Personnel Affected by War by Means of Health-Oriented Fitness

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the effectiveness of health-oriented fitness as a mean of preventing psycho-emotional disorders among female military personnel operating under stress conditions caused by the specific nature of military service. Aim. The aim of the research is to determine the effectiveness of health fitness as a mean for optimizing psycho-emotional state of female military personnel exposed to the stress factors of war. Мethods. The research involved 31 female military individuals of cadet status. The group was formed using a random sampling method. To achieve the aim, theoretical research methods, physiological methods, the variative pulsometry method, and mathematical statistics methods were employed. Results. The sociological phase of the study confirmed a positive impact on the psycho-emotional state of female military personnel under the influence of the proposed program. Particularly, questionnaire data revealed a tendency towards reduced anxiety and depression, proved by the improvement of scores on the relevant scales following the pedagogical experiment. Among the female military personnel, the proportion of individuals with a mild level of anxiety increased by 22,6 %, while the proportion with moderate anxiety decreased by 12,8. Moreover, a reduction in daytime sleepiness was noticed, indicating normalization of the rest patterns and recovery of the body's functional state. Furthermore, the results of physiological research methods revealed statistically significant positive changes in psycho-emotional status, accompanied by optimization of autonomic cardiac regulation. Specifically, a statistically significant increase in median values of RMSSD to 51,6 мс (p<0,05) and pNN50 to 31,7 % (p<0,05), and also increase of median value of HFnorm from 0,36 to 0,59 a.u. (p<0,01) with a simultaneous decrease of LFnorm to 0,41 a.u. (p<0,01). These values indicate enhanced parasympathetic activity and reduced tension of the regulatory systems. The results of the orthostatic test confirm improved hemodynamic adaptive capacity, as evidenced by a statistically significant median decrease from 18,0 to 8,0 уд·хв⁻¹ (p<0,01), that indicates a more resource-efficient functioning of the cardiovascular system. Conclusion. The obtained results indicate the effectiveness of health-oriented fitness as a tool for psycho-emotional regulation and for enhancing the overall level of adaptive capacity of female military personnel under high-level stress conditions.