Exercise & Activity

There are countless studies that depict a correlation between frequent sessions of aerobic exercise and positive effects on stress, anxiety, and overall mood enhancement. However, very few studies attempt to explain how exercise parameters, such as intensity and duration, effect mood enhancement. In 2018, a systematic review was completed with intentions of answering these questions. Researchers began with over seven hundred papers and further refined it to thirty-seven papers directly relating to exercise parameters and mood enhancement. Within those final thirty-seven papers, they synthesized the results into valuable data for health and fitness professionals as an aid to prescribe exercise modalities for mental health. The study claims that aerobic exercise is most effective in enhancing mood when completed at moderate intensity for ten to thirty minutes. Researchers speculate that durations longer than thirty minutes cause fatigue and trigger a withdrawal-like response from exercise. Similarly, durations less than ten minutes were not sufficient to produce favorable hormone release. There were discrepancies as it relates to ideal aerobic intensity. Low intensity exercise seemed to cause sensations of “boredom” and effected participants’ desire to exercise, thus negatively effecting mood enhancement. High intensity exercise had the opposite effect in that participants felt overworked to also hinder overall mood enhancement. Due to this, researchers found that both exercise intensity and duration were not linear in nature. It was deduced that maximum mood enhancement was achieved by durations of ten to thirty minutes at a moderate intensity (Chan, 2019).

              What can this mean for individuals attempting to implement exercise into their mental health and hygiene routine? It means that regular bouts of moderate aerobic exercise, for roughly ten to thirty minutes, is a good way to diminish stress levels without the aid of commonly prescribed drugs. For information on how to proceed with exercise in a safe and healthful manner please visit this article by Harvard Medical School: 10 tips for exercising safely.