Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Until recently, most studies investigating the acute relationships between affective and physical feeling states and physical activity were conducted in controlled laboratory settings, whose results might not translate well to everyday life. This review was among the first attempts to synthesize current evidence on the acute (e.g., within a few hours) relationships between affective and physical feeling states and physical activity from studies conducted in free-living, naturalistic settings in non-clinical populations. A systematic literature search yielded 14 eligible studies for review. Six studies tested the relationship between affective states and subsequent physical activity; findings from these studies suggest that positive affective states were positively associated with physical activity over the next few hours while negative affective states had no significant association. Twelve studies tested affective states after physical activity and yielded consistent evidence for physical activity predicting higher positive affect over the next few hours. Further, there was some evidence that physical activity was followed by a higher level of energetic feelings in the next few hours. The evidence for physical activity reducing negative affect in the next few hours was inconsistent and inconclusive. Future research in this area should consider recruiting more representative study participants, utilizing higher methodological standards for assessment (i.e., electronic devices combined with accelerometry), reporting patterns of missing data, and investigating pertinent moderators and mediators (e.g., social and physical context, intensity, psychological variables). Knowledge gained from this topic could offer valuable insights for promoting daily physical activity adoption and maintenance in non-clinical populations.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Higher positive and lower negative affective response during physical activity may reinforce motivation to engage in future activity. However, affective response during physical activity is typically examined under controlled laboratory conditions. This research used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine social and physical contextual influences on momentary affective response during physical activity in naturalistic settings. Participants included 116 adults (mean age = 40.3 years, 73% female) who completed 8 randomly prompted EMA surveys per day for 4 days across 3 semiannual waves. EMA surveys measured current activity level, social context, and physical context. Participants also rated their current positive and negative affect. Multilevel models assessed whether momentary physical activity level moderated differences in affective response across contexts controlling for day of the week, time of day, and activity intensity (measured by accelerometer). The Activity Level × Alone interaction was significant for predicting positive affect (β = -0.302, SE = 0.133, p = .024). Greater positive affect during physical activity was reported when with other people (vs. alone). The Activity Level × Outdoors interaction was significant for predicting negative affect (β = -0.206, SE = 0.097, p = .034). Lower negative affect during physical activity was reported outdoors (vs. indoors). Being with other people may enhance positive affective response during physical activity, and being outdoors may dampen negative affective response during physical activity.