Effects of personality and acute exercise on mood states

Exercisers often report that even a single bout of exercise can bring about significant changes in their mood. However, the experimental evidence does not entirely support these anecdotal reports. It is currently unclear whether exercise exerts any greater effect on mood than an equivalent period of quiet rest or other placebo conditions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of exercise against a no-exercise condition within an experimental protocol. A second aim was to examine whether manipulation of Ss' expectations of psychological benefits from exercise could alter the extent to which their moods changed. The influence of personality on magnitude of mood change post-exercise was also evaluated. It was found that exercise did enhance mood more than a period of quiet rest. However, the manipulation of expectations failed to produce significantly different effects on mood. Finally, personality factors were found to influence significantly the mood effects of exercise. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.