Physical exercise and Alexithymia: risk or benefit?

Physical activity is involved in increasing health potential. However, in sports practice a state of well-being may depend on the management of emotions. The purpose of the present study was to analyse the relationship between the type of exercise and alexithymia. Three groups of people were analyzed for the study: triathlon practitioners, people practicing Tai Chi, and sedentary people. All participants were assessed for both physical activity level and alexithymia. The results show that more athletes with alexithymia practice high-intensity exercise. Thus, there seems to be an association between alexithymia and exercise addiction. Through competitive exercise, athletes can overcome difficult challenges by employing cognitive resources on external factors, without focusing attention inward. A question emerges from this study: is alexithymia a determining factor in choosing a specific type of physical activity, or could alexithymia be triggered by overtraining? This aspect could be investigated in future studies, which could further investigate the relationship between the choice orientation of a specific sport and alexithymia.