Army to study how physical conditioning affects soldiers’ mental health

A human performance program designed to help Green Berets straighten out their bodies after punishing deployments could have emotional and psychological benefits, too, according to researchers.

A team at Colorado State University has a grant to study whether the physical conditioning of the Human Performance Program, which is part of U.S. Special Operations Command’s Preservation of the Force and Families initiative, can help soldiers psychologically, spiritually and socially.

“We’re going to look at the other domains to see how the physical side might influence those other domains, and, potentially, how those other domains might influence the physical part,” team member Tracy Nelson, a health and exercise science professor, told Army Times in a phone interview.

Nelson and the rest of the team will work with the 10th Special Forces Group at nearby Fort Carson, building on past research they’ve done with Green Berets.

Read More- Army Times

Image courtesy of US Army