05.31.13
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The Relationship Between Aerobic Exercise on Feelings of Wellness

Please note: The entry below is in the APA style, for the benefit of providing conclusive evidence that aerobic exercise has a positive effect on wellness. A layman’s blog entry can be found here. 
 

In the last two decades claims have arisen that aerobic exercise is an effective tool for increasing feelings of wellness. In the 1950s Halbert Dunn, chief of the National Office of Vital Statistics, defined wellness as, “an integrated method of functioning, which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable” (Zimmer, 2010, ¶ 4). Simplified, feelings of wellness are those that are opposite any negative emotion that would decrease the functioning level of the individual such as depression and anxiety. Aerobic exercise is physical exercise that is low in intensity and long in duration that uses oxygen to meet the energy demands of the activity.  There can be multiple physiological benefits from performing aerobic activity based upon the frequency and duration of said performance, such as an improving and strengthening the function of the cardiovascular system, as well as providing weight-control.

Just as there can be different physical benefits based on the frequency and duration of aerobic exercise performance, it is also possible that there are different emotional benefits that are tied to this same principal of frequency and duration. The short and long-term benefits of activity in relationship to wellness may be used for various treatments.

Understanding the scientific relationship between the application of aerobic exercise on feelings of wellness in the short and long term, when considering the frequency and duration of the exercise, is important because it may substantiate the claims with evidence that exercise is an effective tool for mood improvement. Ultimately this leads to the question: is there a relationship between aerobic exercise performance and a feeling of wellness?

There are numerous studies that outline the immediate effects of a single frequency and short duration bout of aerobic exercise on mood, which have been evaluated through questionnaires following aerobic exertion or quiet-rest (Bartholomew et al., 2005; Hellmich, 2009). In a small clinical trial, researchers at the University of Vermont had 48 students split between cycling on an exercise bike for 20 minutes, or participating in quiet-rest for the same duration (2009, ¶ 2).  The participants were asked to fill out questionnaires at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours following their designated program. Researchers found that those who participated in the aerobic activity felt a significant improvement in mood up to 12 hours later, compared to the group who were at rest (2009, ¶ 4).   There was no significant difference after 24 hours; thus leaving them to conclude that daily exercise can improve mood and relieve daily stressors (2009, ¶ 8).

In another single frequency study, this time performed by Bartholomew, Ciccolo and Morrison of the University of Texas at Austin, participants suffering from major depressive mood disorder (MDD) were assigned to either participate in an acute aerobic exercise program or quiet-rest control (Bartholomew et al., 2005, p. 2033). Those assigned to perform aerobic exercise underwent a single session of brisk-walking for 30 minutes where their heart rate was monitored to stay between 60-70% of their maximal heart rate, thus keeping them in the aerobic exercise threshold. Participants in the quiet-rest control stayed in a silent room for 30 minutes where they were not allowed to exercise, eat, sleep or read. At the end of the 30 minutes all participates were asked to fill out a questionnaire at 5, 30 and 60 minutes. Of the 9 subscales that Bartholomew and his colleagues assessed, exercise has had two additional benefits over quiet-rest when it came to psychological well-being (wellness) and vigor (2005, p. 2034). They concluded that a single session of aerobic exercise appears to have a short-term, positive effect on mood in patients with MDD (2005, p. 2035).

Looking at the effects of long-term aerobic exercise performance, researchers M. Otto and J. Smits found that, “Exercise can be as powerful as antidepressants in treating depression, and, more broadly, regular exercise is linked with decreased anxiety, stress and hostility” (Otto and Smits, 2011, p. 12). Otto and Smits looked at dozens of clinical trials and population based studies to come up with this opinion. One large-scale study looked at over 10,000 Harvard alumni over a period of 20 years to see if there was a relationship between depression and physical activity over time. The study found that the more exercise the alumni participated in, the fewer and less severe incidents of depression (2011, p. 13).

This research is also strengthened by a study performed by Dr. J. Blumenthal on the effects of exercise training on patients major depression, where a 16 week exercise program was found to be as effective in treating patients with depression as antidepressants (Bartholomew et al., 2005, p. 2032).  Kirsten Weir of the American Psychological Association also reports that Blumenthal explored the mood-exercise relationship through a chain of randomized control trials (Weir, 2011, ¶ 9). In one trial Blumenthal assigned inactive adults suffering from major-depressive disorder to one of four groups; two of these groups included exercise regiments, one had antidepressant medication, and one group was on a placebo. After four months of treatment the patients on the exercise and antidepressant treatments had higher rates of remission. After one year Blumenthal found that the subjects under the regular exercise program who continued to follow their regiments had lower depression scores than their non-active counterparts. He concluded that exercise was not only important in treating depression, but also in preventing a relapse (2011, ¶ 10).

In another scientific study, Dr. Philip Holmes and his associates at Georgia University have shown that exercise can alter brain chemistry (Blue, 2010, ¶ 7). In one study certain genes are shown to switch on after a few weeks of regular exercise performance. These genes increase the level of a peptide neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates the stress hormone, nor-epinephrine, thus lessening the body’s reaction to stress (2010, ¶ 7).

The present study researched the validity of the claims that there was not only a relationship between aerobic exercise performance on feelings of wellness, but that the relationship is a positive one. In the most acute cases, up to 24 hours after aerobic exercise performance, two provided studies have shown that there is a decrease in depression and anxiety, or an elevation of mood associated with aerobic exercise (Bartholomew et al., 2005; Hellmich, 2009). Looking at the longer-term, from 4 months to 20 years, there also appears to be a correlation between the frequency of aerobic exercise performance  on mood management and the frequency and severity of depressive episodes (Bartholomew et al., 2005; Otto and Smits, 2011; Weir, 2011).  There is even scientific research to substantiate that there is a biological reason for the effect of exercise performance on feelings on wellness (Blue, 2010). This research correlates exercise activity and its effect on neurotransmitters in the brain.

By looking at the short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) effects of exercise, based on frequency and duration, with relation to mood disorders and anxiety in clinical and population based studies, it appears to be conclusive that exercise can have a substantial effect of eliciting feelings of wellness. This research also concludes that this relationship is a positive one, where aerobic exercise performance can immediately elicit feelings of wellness.

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2 thoughts on “The Relationship Between Aerobic Exercise on Feelings of Wellness”

  1. Pingback: How Regular Aerobic Exercise Will Make YOU Happy – Journey Fitness and Personal Training

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