Credit: www.rawstory.com |
Had
a bad day? Extending your normal exercise routine by a few minutes may be the
solution, according to Penn State researchers, who found that people's
satisfaction with life was higher on days when they exercised more than usual.
"The
findings reinforce the idea that physical activity is a health behavior with
important consequences for daily well-being and should be considered when
developing national policies to enhance satisfaction with life," said
Jaclyn Maher, graduate student in kinesiology.
The
team examined the influence of physical activity on satisfaction with life among
emerging adults ages 18 to 25 years because this population's sense of
well-being appears to worsen more quickly than at any other time during
adulthood.
"Emerging
adults are going through a lot of changes; they are leaving home for the first
time and attending college or starting jobs," said Maher. "As a
result, their satisfaction with life can plummet. We decided to focus on
emerging adults because they stand to benefit the most from strategies to
enhance satisfaction with life."
The
researchers recruited two groups of college students at Penn State. The first
group, consisting of 190 individuals, entered information into a diary every
day for eight days. The second group, consisting of 63 individuals, entered
information into a secure website every day for 14 days. Both groups answered
questions aimed at determining participants' satisfaction with life, physical
activity and self-esteem. The personalities of all participants in the first
group were assessed at the outset of the study using the Big Five Inventory
short form.
For
the second group (the 63 individuals who filled out questionnaires online for
14 days), the researchers wanted to further investigate whether physical
activity was indeed, the cause of participants' increased satisfaction with life
rather than some other factor such as mental health, fatigue, or Body Mass
Index.
"Shifts
in depression, anxiety and stress would be expected to influence a person's
satisfaction with life at any given point in time," said David Conroy,
professor of kinesiology. "In addition, fatigue can be a barrier to
engaging in physical activity, and a high Body Mass Index associated with being
overweight may cause a person to be less satisfied in a variety of ways."
By
controlling for these variables, the researchers were able to determine that
the amount of physical activity a person undertakes in a particular day
directly influences his or her satisfaction with life. Specifically, the team
found that by exercising just a little more than usual a person can significantly
improve his or her satisfaction with life.
"Based
on these findings, we recommend that people exercise a little longer or a
little harder than usual as a way to boost satisfaction with life," said
Conroy.
###
The
above story is based on the October 25, 2012 news release by Pennsylvania State University
The
results of the research appeared online October 22, 2012 ahead of print in the journal
Health Psychology:
Maher
JP, Doerksen SE, Elavsky S, Hyde AL, Pincus AL, Ram N, Conroy DE. A Daily Analysis of Physical Activity and
Satisfaction With Life in Emerging Adults. Health Psychol. 2012; DOI: 10.1037/a0030129
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