Physical Activity Is Exciting, Literally

Exciting news about physical activity: it’s exciting. Literally. Research conducted at Penn State University shows that people who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, and wait, there’s more exciting news: people also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual. A Penn State news release reports that the researchers asked 190 students to keep daily diaries describing free-time physical activity and sleep quantity and quality, as well as their mental states, including perceived stress and feeling states. Participants were told to record only those episodes of physical activity that occurred for at least 15 minutes and to note whether the physical activity was mild, moderate or vigorous. The researchers then separated the participants’ feeling states into four categories: pleasant-activated feelings exemplified by excitement and enthusiasm, pleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by satisfaction and relaxation, unpleasant-activated feelings exemplified by anxiety and anger, and unpleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by depression and sadness. What did they find? Amanda Hyde, a kinesiology graduate student who was part of the research team, says they learned that “people who are more physically active have more pleasant-activated feelings than people who are less active, and we also found that people have more pleasant-activated feelings on days when they are more physically active than usual.” Read more from Penn State.