ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1642123
Acute Effects of Tai Chi with Different Practice Emphasis on Autonomic Activity
Provisionally accepted
- 1Wushu School, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
- 2Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- 3China University of Geosciences Beijing, Beijing, China
- 4Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
- 5Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Exercise intensity, breathing patterns, and intentional meditation significantly influence autonomic nervous system activity. Tai Chi serves as an aerobic exercise stimulus. Additionally, it incorporates a distinctive breathing pattern. It is also seen as a meditative exercise. However, the acute effect of different Tai Chi factors on autonomic activity is unclear. This study aims to investigate the acute effects of Tai Chi with different practice emphasis on autonomic activity. The findings may guide the selection of Tai Chi techniques in exercise prescription. After health screening, 8 Traditional Chinese Medicine students (TCMS), 8 Competitive Tai Chi students (CTCS), and 9 Economics and Management students (EMS) were enrolled. Participants were assessed for indices related to autonomic activity, exercise intensity, respiration, and mind state during both quiet and Tai Chi conditions. Results indicated that the RMSSD and SDNN values for TCMS were significantly higher than those of CTCS and EMS (P < 0.05). Heart rate was not significantly different between the groups during quiet and Tai Chi states (P > 0.05). Immediately following Tai Chi practice, TCMS exhibited significant reductions in thoughtfulness, anger, and inactivity (P < 0.05).No significant differences were noted in CTCS and EMS (P > 0.05). Tai Chi practices emphasizing mindfulness may be more effective in enhancing autonomic activity. It recommends the standing poles interventions for depression, insomnia, and other groups for more autonomic health benefits.
Keywords: Tai Chi, Heart rate variability, mind, Autonomic nerves, Health
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Duan, Huang, Li, Xiao and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dong Wang, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.