Physical Activity and Mental Health

This presentation focused on exercise for the masses.  Emphasis was on the effects of exercise on the mental health of people of various ages and fitness levels.  The mental health variables included consisted of the effects of exercise on reduction of anxiety and depression, and the effect of exercise in increasing one's positive mood, restful sleep, stress reactivity, cognitive functioning, and self-esteem.  This presentation will focus on meta-analytic reviews of the literature and large-scale epidemiological and experimental studies.  Behavioral artifacts and whether exercise is associated or causing changes in these mental health varialbes will also be considered.  The literature reviewed suggests that exercise is associated (but as yet causative relations are not established) with decreases in anxiety, depression, stress reactivity, and increases in positive mood, restful sleep, congitive functioning and self-esteem.  Although behavioral artifacts are not indicated for reductions in anxiety and depression, they could possibly confound the relationship between exercise and self-esteem and cognitive functioning.  Future research is needed to establish: (a) dose-response relationships between exercise and various mental health variables; (b) whether behavioral artifacts are operative for some of these variables; (c) research support for various mechanisms that are hypothesis to produce these relationships, and (d) more large-scale experimental studies that can show causal relations.