Abstract
Background: To examine the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise and meditation on mood state among young adults. Methods: Participants (N= 66, mean age = 21.3 years) were randomly assigned to walk,meditate, or sit (control) for 10 minutes. Participants’ mood state was monitored before and after the intervention using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. Results: Significant group x time interaction effects were observed for the POMS composite scores (P=0.05). When evaluating three POMS sub scales separately (depression/dejection,anger/hostility, and fatigue/inertia), only fatigue/inertia was found to have a significant group x time effect (P=0.04). Post hoc paired t tests revealed that fatigue/inertia sub scale scores significantly decreased from baseline to post-intervention in both the exercise (P=0.03) and meditation (P<0.001) groups. However, POMS composite scores decreased significantly in the meditation group (P<0.001) but not in the exercise group (P=0.10). Conclusion: A 10-minute bout of brisk walking and meditation both improved mood state,when compared to an inactive control group. A single bout of brisk walking or meditation may offer suitable strategies to improve mood state among young adults.
Highlights
Mood-related disorders, such as depression, pose an enormous public health burden
Berger and Owen[16] have presented evidence that yoga has similar mood-enhancing benefits for college students compared to aerobic exercise, arguing that an aerobic-component of exercise may not be necessary for mood-enhancement
This study offers an important contribution to a gap in the acute exercise/meditation literature by (1) presenting a side-by-side comparison of the brisk walking and nonactive meditation, and (2) utilizing an exercise/meditation protocol that would be easy to implement in a wide variety of populations and settings
Summary
Mood-related disorders, such as depression, pose an enormous public health burden. Psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis) and pharmacotherapy are two traditional forms of intervention used to treat psychological disorders[1] (including subclinical symptomology),[2] with these often being implemented in conjunction.[3]. A number of studies have compared the effectiveness of exercise interventions with mindfulness-based interventions on improving a variety of health outcomes. To examine the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise and meditation on mood state among young adults. Results: Significant group x time interaction effects were observed for the POMS composite scores (P = 0.05). When evaluating three POMS subscales separately (depression/dejection, anger/hostility, and fatigue/inertia), only fatigue/inertia was found to have a significant group x time effect (P = 0.04). Conclusion: A 10-minute bout of brisk walking and meditation both improved mood state, when compared to an inactive control group. A single bout of brisk walking or meditation may offer suitable strategies to improve mood state among young adults
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