Mood Alterations with a Single Bout of Physical Activity

Abstract

Although numerous studies have examined the relationship among affect, personality, and physical activity, results are equivocal. Critics have cited inadequate experimental designs and analyses as the bases for ambiguity. This study addressed two identified weaknesses, length of exercise regimen and improper selection of subjects. Subjects were 72 college-age students who participated in one of three 75-min. activity classes (running, karate, weight lifting) and a lecture class (control subjects). The Profile of Mood States Test was administered prior to and immediately after exercise bouts. Analyses of variance and multiple t tests indicated that participating in a single bout of exercise significantly reduced reported total mood disturbance, tension, depression, anger, and confusion.

Psychological Responses to Acute Aerobic, Resistance, or Combined Exercise in Healthy and Overweight Individuals: A Systematic Review

“…71 Another study also reported no significant changes in PWB. 50 A combination of aerobic and resistance exercise decreased PD by 20%. 56 Comparing aerobic exercise with resistance exercise yielded no significant changes in PD 71 ; however, another aerobic and resistance comparative study reported PD to decrease 25% in all modes of exercise compared with control.…”

“…29,30 One study used a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise, 56 and 2 studies compared the effects of acute aerobic exercise versus the effects of acute resistance exercise. 50,71 …”

“…The resistance exercise consisted of 60 to 75 minutes of ‘body-building/weight training’, but intensities were not reported 50,71 (Table 2). …”

Post-Exercise Affect: The Effect of Mode Preference

“…A variety of exercise modes including weight lifting (O'Connor, Bryant, Veltri, & Gebhardt, 1993), yoga 264 B. M. MILLER ET AL. (Berger & Owen, 1988, tai chi (Jin, 1989), short walks (Thayer, 1987), and running (Dyer & Crouch, 1988;McGowan, Pierce, & Jordan, 1991) demonstrate mood-regulating effects.…”

“…For example, Szabo and colleagues collected post-exercise affective data from 174 habitual exercisers who engaged in their normal amount of aerobic dance, weight training, tai-chi or Hatha yoga (Szabo, Mesko, Caputo, & Gill, 1998). Similar designs were utilized by Dyer and Crouch (1988), Owen (1988), andMcGowan andcolleagues (1991); all of whom supported differences in psychological states as a function of exercise mode. For example, participants in one study were students voluntarily enrolled in swimming (n = 21), body conditioning (n = 16), coeducational fencing (n = 20), yoga (ns = 37, 26), a health science lecture (n = 35), or a physical education lecture (n = 15), who completed one class session in conjunction with psychological assessment (Berger & Owen, 1988).…”