Affective Responses to Treadmill Running with Distraction and Stratified by Preference

Abstract

Acute bouts of exercise have been associated with significant affective changes. Exercising with distractions may redirect an individual's attention away from feelings of fatigue and discomfort that are common during exercise. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare individuals' affective responses to exercise with video (VID), music (MUS) and no distraction (ND). METHODS: 25 individuals (16 females, 9 males; Mean age = 21.0 ± 1.5 years; Mean BMI = 24.0 ± 3.2) participated in this investigation. This study included 3, thirty-five min runs on a treadmill. One of the three conditions (VID, MUS, or ND) was randomly administered at each session. Each exercise session began with a 5 minute warm-up where the treadmill speed was increased until 80% of max heart rate (HR) was reached. The participants were then restricted to changing speed only at the completion of each subsequent 5 min stage. Affect was assessed using the Feeling Scale (FS) and the Felt-Arousal Scale (FAS). The FS and FAS were given prior to, every 5 min during, immediately following, and 10 min post exercise. In addition, participants were also asked to assess the distraction conditions and rank order them from most preferred to least preferred (most preferred: 14 MUS, 11 VID, 0 ND; moderately preferred: 11 MUS, 11 VID, 3 ND; least preferred: 0 MUS, 3 VID, 22 ND). Separate repeated measures general linear models were run for condition, as well as, preference. RESULTS: When stratified by distraction condition, analyses of the FS and FAS demonstrated a significant effect for time (p<.01). A significant condition effect was seen for FS (p=.02) with both VID and MUS being more pleasant than ND. When organized by preference, a significant time effect was also seen for FS (p<.001) and FAS (p=.01). A significant condition effect was also seen for FS (p=.03) with the most and moderately preferred conditions more pleasant than the least preferred condition. A time x preference condition interaction demonstrated a trend toward significance (p=.07). CONCLUSION: The use of distraction may be a desirable technique to employ when prescribing exercise. When doing so, it may be pertinent to allow the participant to select their own distraction. This strategy may have a positive influence on future exercise adherence.