Poor mental health and increased levels of psychological distress are growing areas of concern for university students who report significantly more negative mental health symptoms compared to age-matched employed individuals. Increased psychological distress may be a result of a difficult transition from dependent living to independence in addition to increased academic, social, and financial pressures. This can ultimately lead to decreased academic performance, increased dropout rates, and a greater likelihood of self-harm. Physical activity is regarded as an effective strategy for reducing negative mental health symptoms such as stress and anxiety, however, very few university students reach the recommended physical activity guidelines (with one study showing rates as low as 5.4%). Green exercise participation, whereby individuals exercise in green or natural spaces, has resulted in decreased stress and anxiety. However limited evidence has been directed to the impact on mental health in university students, despite the low-cost accessibility and potential psychological benefits. Enjoyment and positive affect (feelings of pleasure) are key factors in predicting and promoting physical activity adherence. Prescribing exercise intensity based on affect (e.g., instructing individuals to exercise at an intensity that feels “good” to “very good”) could therefore have subsequent benefits on physical activity participation compared to a self-selected or heart rate based prescription. Therefore, this study investigated potential environmental effects of green and indoor exercise on psychological outcomes in students (n = 18) compared to a control condition, in addition to providing a novel understanding of affect-regulated exercise.
All participants (n = 18) completed three conditions: a 20-minute walk/run outdoors (green exercise condition); a 20-minute walk/run indoors on a laboratory treadmill (indoor exercise condition); and a series of cognitive tasks (control condition). Participants were instructed to exercise at an intensity that felt “good” to “very good”, which was assessed throughout the exercise. Stress and anxiety measures were taken pre- and post-condition, with enjoyment measured post-condition. Stress significantly decreased from pre- to post-condition after both green and indoor exercise with large effect sizes. Enjoyment was also significantly greater in the exercise conditions compared to the control condition, with the enjoyment scores highest in the green exercise condition. A significant Time effect for anxiety was found, indicating pre- to post-condition anxiety reductions. Larger, non-significant reductions in stress and anxiety were found after green exercise compared to indoor exercise. Average affect scores did not significantly vary between green and indoor environments, indicating a successful manipulation of exercise intensity. Furthermore, reductions in stress following affect-regulated exercise were greater than stress reductions after self-selected exercise intensities. In short, the findings suggest that university students who exercise at an intensity that feels good in a short exercise bout (20 minutes) can reduce their levels of stress and anxiety, but that exercising in this way in a green environment could have more benefits for reducing psychological health.
This study was recently presented by Esther Carter at the British Psychological Society Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology Conference (click here to view). Esther conducted this study as part of her BSc Sport and Exercise Science degree.