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This is disturbing, not only because so many people are missing out on the physical benefits that result from exercise, but on the mental benefits that result from exercise as well Main Point #1: A great deal of attention has been paid to the relationship between physical fitness and psychological health. The four psychological areas that have been studied the most are: 1) Psychological well-being and mood, 2) personality and self-concept, 3) Psychological stress response, and 4) cognition (i.e.- perception, knowledge, and awareness; thinking) A. Well-Being and Mood (Short & Long term Benefits of Exercise) a. The most common result of these studies is that physical activity improves mood and well-being immediately following the exercise. One study examined 170 people. One group attended swimming, fencing, or physical conditioning classes. The second group attended lecture classes where no exercise was involved. i. Questionnaires that were filled out directly before and after the class sessions showed significant mood improvement in the classes where exercise was involved (compared to the non-physical activity classes). a. Most of these studies indicate that having a consistent exercise program This study examined a random sample of 94 people. They were divided into groups that participated in either a high intensity exercise program, a moderate intensity exercise program, or 1 of 2 control groups that participated in no exercise. i. Results showed significant psychological benefits for both the high intensity and moderate intensity exercise groups. However, the moderate intensity exercise group showed the greatest increase. ii. In addition, on follow-up testing that took places 3 months later, the same results took place. a. Taking all the studies into consideration, the research shows positive effects on mood in both the short-term and the long-term. However, the short-term benefits seem to have a stronger relationship than the long-term benefits. b. The positive mood that results from exercise is due to less: anxiety, tension, depression, and fatigue. 1. Studies have found a link between exercise and personality dimensions 103 female college students were studied before and after a 15-week period of aerobic training. i. Results showed that after the 15 week-period was over, the participants were less inhibited, more imaginative, and more self-assured. ii. Greater aerobic performance was significantly associated with the results being shown to a higher degree. a. Type A personality is characterized by an exaggerated sense of time urgency, competitiveness, and hostility. This is linked to heart disease. b. Most studies have found no link between exercise and the reduction of Type A behavior. For 10 week, examined 107 people that were assigned to one of the following groups: Aerobic Exercise, Weight Training, and Stress Management i. While the stress management group showed a significant reduction in Type A behavior, the aerobic exercise group showed virtually no reduction. The weight training group showed some reduction in Type A behavior, but was far out-distanced by the stress management group. a. Studies consistently demonstrate that exercise improves self-concept, self-esteem, and self-assurance. In addition, research suggests that exercise improves creative thinking. b. Short-term vs. long-term effects on self-concept and the like have not yet been adequately studied. c. Also, research that focuses on Type A behavior and other personality traits has not shown a link to exercise. 1. Most studies that have tested this relationship have hypothesized that the physiological adaptation that is associated with exercise, influences recovery from psychological stressful events. 2. Two Types of Experiments: Experimental Design and Correlation Design i. Participants were randomly placed into either exercising or non-exercising groups. At a 7 to 12 week follow-up, reactivity and recovery from stress was measured. ii. Stress reactivity was measured by such tasks as having the group members perform difficult math problems and several other types of stressful intellectual tasks. iii. Stress recovery was then measured by changes in heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and the level of certain chemicals in the body. iv. Most of these studies concluded that exercise increases the ability of the body to recover from psychological stress. v. However, in terms of stress reactivity, the results are inconclusive. i. The people studied were divided into groups depending upon there ii. The same experiments were conducted as in the Experimental Design iii. Most of these studies found no association between exercise and enhanced psychological stress recovery. iv. However, with regard to stress reactivity, many studies concluded that exercise was related to some physiological measures, but not others. Some studies found a positive effect on blood pressure, while others found the positive relationship was not with blood pressure, but with something else, etc. a. Because so many of these studies contradict each other, it is not conclusive whether or not exercise has a positive relationship with stress recovery and/or reactivity. b. However, the most plausible evidence suggests that exercise does help 1. "Cognitive" processes are functions that are related to the brain. 2. Studies that have compared test performances of people differing in physical fitness levels support the view that cognitive function is increased by physical activity. Concluded that a positive relationship exists between physical fitness and motor functions, such as reaction time and movement time. More recent research has shown that aerobic fitness training improves psychological test and memory test performance. c. While some studies show no positive relationship between memory-search performance and exercise [Blumenthal, Madden, 19??], these studies were performed only after a short training regimen was undertaken by the participants in the study. d. The studies which did show a positive relationship, had the subjects participate in a training program for 4x longer than the studies which did not find a relationship. a. Though research results have not been totally consistent, they seem to indicate that physical fitness improves the way in which the brain functions. 1. Exercise improves, mood and psychological well-being; especially immediately following exercise. 2. While, Self-concept and self-esteem are also improved, physical activity has little effect on a person's personality. 3. Exercise is also likely to decrease mild anxiety, depression, and stress. It may also improve work-related habits. 1. Though there are many theories on exactly how exercise improves psychological well-being, no one theory has any substantial experiential evidence to back it up. 2. There has been virtually no research regarding the frequency and duration of exercise sessions on mental health. Thus, it is impossible to determine the optimal frequency and duration of exercise for psychological improvements. 3. Finally, the types of exercise that enhance psychological functioning the most have not been determined. This is because most research relating exercise to mental health has been done with aerobic activities (i.e.- running, walking, biking, and swimming). More recent research suggests that anaerobic exercise, such as weight lifting, may be at least just as effective an aerobic exercise. Bibliography: Word Count: 1252
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