Exercisers Achieve Greater Acute Exercise-Induced Mood Enhancement Than Nonexercisers

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.09.026

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Volume 89, Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 358-363

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2007.09.026 Get rights and content

Abstract

Hoffman MD, Hoffman DR. Exercisers achieve greater acute exercise-induced mood enhancement than nonexercisers.

Objective

To determine whether a single session of exercise of appropriate intensity and duration for aerobic conditioning has a different acute effect on mood for nonexercisers than regular exercisers.

Design

Repeated-measures design.

Setting

Research laboratory.

Participants

Adult nonexercisers, moderate exercisers, and ultramarathon runners (8 men, 8 women in each group).

Interventions

Treadmill exercise at self-selected speeds to induce a rating of perceived exertion (RPE) of 13 (somewhat hard) for 20 minutes, preceded and followed by 5 minutes at an RPE of 9 (very light).

Main Outcome Measure

Profile of Mood States before and 5 minutes after exercise.

Results

Vigor increased by a mean ± standard deviation of 8±7 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 5–12) among the ultramarathon runners and 5±4 points (95% CI, 2–9) among the moderate exercisers, with no improvement among the nonexercisers. Fatigue decreased by 5±6 points (95% CI, 2–8) for the ultramarathon runners and 4±4 points (95% CI, 1–7) for the moderate exercisers, with no improvement among the nonexercisers. Postexercise total mood disturbance decreased by a mean of 21±16 points (95% CI, 12–29) among the ultramarathon runners, 16±10 points (95% CI, 7–24) among the moderate exercisers, and 9±13 points (95% CI, 1–18) among the nonexercisers.

Conclusions

A single session of moderate aerobic exercise improves vigor and decreases fatigue among regular exercisers but causes no change in these scores for nonexercisers. Although total mood disturbance improves postexercise in exercisers and nonexercisers, regular exercisers have approximately twice the effect as nonexercisers. This limited postexercise mood improvement among nonexercisers may be an important deterrent for persistence with an exercise program.

Section snippets

Methods

Three groups of adult subjects (nonexercisers, regular moderate exercisers, ultramarathon runners) participated in the study, with 16 subjects (8 men, 8 women) in each group. Sample size determination based on preliminary data from our laboratory indicated that group sizes of 16 would be adequate relative to the main study variables.

All participants were educated beyond high school and were free of known cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic diseases. Exclusion criteria included known

Results

Selected subject characteristics are shown in table 1. Ages ranged from 28 to 59 years and were comparable among groups. As expected, body mass index was lower (P<.001) among the moderate exercisers and ultramarathon runners compared with the nonexercisers. Physical activity levels (leisure time component and total) during the 7 days preceding the study, as determined by the IPAQ, were higher (P<.01) among the ultramarathon runners compared with the nonexercisers and moderate exercisers.

Discussion

This study found that a single session of exercise of appropriate intensity and duration for aerobic fitness training resulted in an increase in vigor and a decrease in fatigue among adult ultramarathon runners and regular moderate exercisers. In contrast, adult nonexercisers showed no improvement in these scores, and the effect was statistically different for this group compared with the exercisers. Although total mood disturbance improved in all 3 groups after exercise, the 2 groups of

Conclusions

Although previous work has shown that aerobic exercise generally results in acute mood improvements, very little attention has been directed at determining whether this effect is similarly present among regular exercisers and nonexercisers. Furthermore, there has been no comparison of regular exercisers and nonexercisers who are middle-aged using exercise intensities and durations within the range that is recommended for enhancing health and fitness. The present study helps clarify that adult

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Based on several theories that were used to explain the effect between exercise and affect (e.g., the opponent-process theory (Markowitz & Arent, 2010; Petruzzello et al., 1991) and the dual-mode model (Ekkekakis, 2001; Markowitz & Arent, 2010)), the attitude towards exercise plays a crucial role with regard to the beneficial effect. On the other hand, previous studies provide some indications that the positive effects of exercise might be greater for regular exercisers as compared to non-active individuals (Chen et al., 2019; Hallgren et al., 2010; Hoffman & Hoffman, 2008). Still, it remains unclear whether the results can be transferred to participants with a negative attitude towards physical activity.
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Original articleExercisers Achieve Greater Acute Exercise-Induced Mood Enhancement Than Nonexercisers

Abstract

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Interventions

Main Outcome Measure

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

J Psychosom Res

Adult participation in recommended levels of physical activity—United States, 2001 and 2003

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep

Adherence to exercise programmesRecommendations

Sports Med

Health care charges associated with physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity

Prev Chronic Dis

Clin Obstet Gynecol

Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association

Med Sci Sports Exerc

Physical activity and public healthA recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine

JAMA

Physical activity and health: a report of the Surgeon General

Exercise and mood: a selective review and synthesis of research employing the profile of mood states

J Appl Sport Psychol

Exercise, emotions, and mental health

Does aerobic exercise improve pain perception and mood?A review of the evidence related to healthy and chronic pain subjects

Curr Pain Headache Rep

A meta-analysis on the anxiety-reducing effects of acute and chronic exerciseOutcomes and mechanisms

Sports Med

Assessment of physical activity: an international perspective

Res Q Exerc Sport

International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity

Med Sci Sports Exerc

Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion

Med Sci Sports Exerc

A 1% treadmill grade most accurately reflects the energetic cost of outdoor running

J Sports Sci

Manual for the Profile of Mood States

Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences

Original article
Exercisers Achieve Greater Acute Exercise-Induced Mood Enhancement Than Nonexercisers