Physical Activity Increases after an Affectively Arousing Daily Life Event

Michael H Pollak,J Ryan Hart

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00518

Abstract

Evidence that structured physical activity can help to regulate affective state has spurred interest in identifying associations between unstructured physical activity and affective states during daily life. The present study examined whether stressful daily life situations that elicit affective arousal also elicit increased physical activity in the form of restless movement. The study compared the physical activity of professors (n = 25) after presenting a classroom lecture to their physical activity at the same time of day on a non-lecture workday. The expectation was that lecturing would increase affective arousal, leading to greater restless movement following the lecture compared to the non-lecture control day. The study assessed subjective arousal to confirm that arousal was higher during the lecture. The primary outcome measures were actigraphy-measured standing and stepping times and number of steps and posture transitions. Results indicate that energetic and tense arousal were higher during the lecture than during the control period. Mean (±SE) up time (standing and stepping) for the 1st minute of the 20 minute post-lecture period was double that of the last minute (32.8 ± 5.73 s to 16.5 ± 5.41 s), while it remained low throughout the comparison period on the control day (p = 0.01). Subjects also took more steps (p = 0.006) and engaged in more transitions between sitting and standing (p = 0.02) after the lecture than after the control period. These results support the conclusion that stressful daily life situations that elicit affective arousal also elicit increased physical activity in the form of restless movement and suggest that affective responses to stressful situations may be important determinants of physical activity during daily life.

Highlights

These studies generally confirm that increases in positive affect or energetic arousal during daily life are preceded by increased bodily movement (Schwerdtfeger et al, 2008; Kanning, 2012; Kanning et al, 2012; Bossmann et al, 2013; Dunton et al, 2014), but find that increases in negative affect or tense arousal during daily life are preceded by either increases (Powell et al, 2009; Kanning, 2012; Kanning et al, 2012) or no change (Schwerdtfeger et al, 2008; Bossmann et al, 2013; von Haaren et al, 2013) in bodily movement, rather than decreases as observed in laboratory studies
Subjects reported increases in both energetic and tense arousal associated with presenting a lecture in a classroom
Subjects stood for more time, took more steps, and exhibited more posture transitions than during a comparable time on a different day preceded by lower energetic and tense arousal

Summary

Introduction

Laboratory studies find that structured exercise can increase positive affect (Arent et al, 2000; Reed and Ones, 2006; Wipfli et al, 2008; Reed and Buck, 2009) and decrease negative affect (North et al, 1990; Arent et al, 2000; Rethorst et al, 2009). Ambulatory studies of associations between momentary affective states and accelerometer-measured physical activity have attempted to demonstrate that physical activity during daily life has a similar effect on affective state during daily life These studies generally confirm that increases in positive affect or energetic arousal during daily life are preceded by increased bodily movement (Schwerdtfeger et al, 2008; Kanning, 2012; Kanning et al, 2012; Bossmann et al, 2013; Dunton et al, 2014), but find that increases in negative affect or tense arousal during daily life are preceded by either increases (Powell et al, 2009; Kanning, 2012; Kanning et al, 2012) or no change (Schwerdtfeger et al, 2008; Bossmann et al, 2013; von Haaren et al, 2013) in bodily movement, rather than decreases as observed in laboratory studies. This could explain an association between negative affect or tense arousal and bodily movement during daily life

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