Physical Activity and Affective Well-Being in Everyday Life

Abstract

Abstract. Multiple studies verified the acute positive effects of physical activity on affective well-being, focusing on sport activities in laboratory settings or supervised programs. This study builds on existing ambulatory assessment studies that indicate positive associations between physical activity and affective well-being (valence, energetic arousal) in everyday life and explicitly differentiates between sport activities and daily physical activities. Moreover, the sustainability of effects is explored. For 7 days, 21 men and 25 women (Mage = 32 years) participated in the study. Physical activity was captured objectively by an accelerometer and additionally with an activity diary. Affective well-being was gathered via a smartphone multiple times per day. Multilevel analyses revealed positive effects on affective well-being (valence, calmness, energetic arousal) for sport activities included in the daily routine. Daily physical activity showed acute positive effects for valence and energetic arousal but not for calmness. However, at the day’s end, sport activities and daily physical activity were positively associated with valence and calmness. This study gives further background knowledge for activity recommendations based on the affect-regulating potential of physical activity.