Morning fatigue and structured exercise interact to affect non-exercise physical activity of fit and healthy older adults

Abstract

Background Exercise training is crucial for maintaining physical and mental health in aging populations. However, as people participate in structured exercise training, they tend to behaviorally compensate by decreasing their non-exercise physical activity, thus potentially blunting the benefits of the training program. Furthermore, physical activity of older adults is substantially influenced by physical feelings such as fatigue. Nevertheless, how older people react to day-to-day fluctuations of fatigue and whether fatigue plays a role in non-exercise physical activity compensation is not known. Thus, the purpose of this study was twofold: (1) To explore whether the volume and intensity of habitual physical activity in older adults were affected by morning fatigue. (2) To investigate the effect of attending power and resistance exercise sessions on the levels of non-exercise physical activity later that day and the following day. Methods Twenty-eight older adults wore an accelerometer during a 4-week low-volume, low-intensity resistance and power training program with three exercise sessions per week and for 3 weeks preceding and 1 week following the program. During the same period, the participants were prompted every morning, using text messages, to rate their momentary fatigue on a scale from 0 to 10. Results Greater morning fatigue was associated with lower volume (p = 0.002) and intensity (p = 0.017) of daily physical activity. Specifically, one point greater on the fatigue scale was associated with 3.2 min (SE 1.0) less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Furthermore, attending an exercise session was associated with less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity later that day by 3.7 min (SE 1.9, p = 0.049) compared to days without an exercise session. During the next day, the volume of physical activity was greater, but only in participants with a body mass index up to 23 (p = 0.008). Conclusions Following low-volume exercise sessions, fit and healthy older adults decreased their non-exercise physical activity later that day, but this compensation did not carry over into the next day. As momentary morning fatigue negatively affects daily physical activity, we suggest that the state level of fatigue should be monitored during intensive exercise programs, especially in less fit older adults with increased fatigability.

Correlation analysis of physical fitness and its impact on falls in 2130 community- dwelling older adults: a retrospective cross-sectional study

“…According to this molecular approach, rehabilitation may enhance the muscle strength and physical performance of older adults, thereby minimizing their risk of falls. Furthermore, by referencing comprehensive analyses of personal features conducted by physicians, experts may develop fall-prevention strategies for older adults and encourage older adults to adopt healthy lifestyles that incorporate organized exercise and dietary supplements to avoid compromising their levels of physical activity due to exhaustion [ 20 ].…”

Towards more personalized digital health interventions: impact of emotions and physical complaints on goals, action and coping plans to promote physical activity

“…First, to the best of our knowledge, this is the rst paper assessing whether variations in daily emotions and physical complaints in uenced behavioural processes such as goal setting, action and coping planning. These variations were already investigated in relation towards physical activity levels in itself (Schultchen et al 2019;Vetrovsky et al 2021), but not in relation to behavioural processes of physical activity. In doing so, the ndings from the current study contribute towards more dynamic personalized support in digital health interventions.…”

“…Indeed, research already showed that PA is in uenced by how we feel in the moment and how we interact with our environment (Dunton 2017;Poppe et al 2021). For example, several studies (Dunton et al 2010;Schultchen et al 2019;Vetrovsky et al 2021) demonstrated that emotions and physical complaints (e.g. fatigue and pain) in uence levels of PA. Vetrovsky et al 2021 (Vetrovsky et al 2021) showed that morning fatigue in older adults was associated with less daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA).…”

“…For example, several studies (Dunton et al 2010;Schultchen et al 2019;Vetrovsky et al 2021) demonstrated that emotions and physical complaints (e.g. fatigue and pain) in uence levels of PA. Vetrovsky et al 2021 (Vetrovsky et al 2021) showed that morning fatigue in older adults was associated with less daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Also, university students who perceived more stress, more negative emotions and less positive emotions had lower subsequent levels of PA (Schultchen et al 2019).…”

Agreement of Physical Activity Measured Using Self-Reporting Questionnaires with Those Using Actigraph Devices, Focusing on the Correlation with Psychological State

“…Inadequate PA is associated with depression or anxiety [15]. Fatigue is also associated with PA [16] as PA can cause fatigue [17], although some studies have found the opposite result [18]. Several other studies have found that emotional problems or fatigue can influence the correlation between the results of self-report and objective measures [19][20][21].…”