The Effect of Treadmill Walking, Smartphone Use and School Work on Positive and Negative Affective States in College Students

Abstract

Excessive internet-connected, cellular telephone (smartphone) use is associated with greater anxiety and lower quality of life in college students. However, the acute effect of a bout of smartphone use on positive and negative affect and how this may differ from other, common activities (i.e., low-intensity exercise, school work) in college students, has not been studied. PURPOSE: To compare the effects of separate bouts of smartphone use, treadmill walking, and school work on positive and negative affect in college students. METHODS: Forty one college students (n = 25 female, 21.7 ± 2.0 years old) completed four, 30-minute conditions (control, treadmill walking, smartphone, school work), on separate days, in a controlled, laboratory environment: 1) Control, participants were seated on a chair in a quiet room. 2) Walking, participants walked at 3.1 mph on a treadmill. 3) Smartphone, participants utilized their smartphones to interact with their personal social-media accounts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter). 4) School work, participants completed self-selected school work (e.g., studying). Participants completed the positive and negative affect scale pre- and post-condition. RESULTS: Analyses of variance revealed a significant (F = 22.3, p < 0.001) condition by time interaction for positive affect which significantly increased (t = 4.2, p < 0.001) from pre- to post-condition during walking (21.8 ± 8.4 pre, 27.4 ± 9.9 post), did not change (t = 1.2, p = 0.24) during school work (21.8 ± 7.7 pre, 23.0 ± 8.2 post) and significantly (t ≥ 3.7, p ≤ 0.001) decreased during both the smartphone (21.5 ± 8.1 pre, 17.2 ± 6.7 post) and control (19.8 ± 7.8 pre, 14.9 ± 5.8 post) conditions. There was also a significant (F = 15.6, p = 0.05) condition by time interaction for negative affect which significantly decreased (t = 2.3, p = 0.03) from pre- to post-condition during school work (13.4 ± 4.4 pre, 12.4 ± 4.1 post) and did not significantly change (t ≤ 1.6, p ≥ 0.11) for the remaining conditions (control: 12.5 ± 3.5 pre, 13.7 ± 4.1 post; walking: 12.3 ± 3.7 pre, 11.8 ± 2.7 post; smartphone: 12.5 ± 3.3 pre, 12.4 ± 2.6 post). CONCLUSION: Walking on a treadmill increased positive affect and school work decreased negative affect in college students. Conversely, a bout of smartphone use significantly decreased positive affect and did not reduce negative affect.