There has also been a BFS (befindlichkeitsscale) created by Able and Brehm in 1993, which takes into account activation and evaluation factors. Parfitt et al, 1994, studied the affective reactions to exercise using eighty students. The intensity of exercise was manipulated according to exercise history. It was discovered that the group that had an active life and performed high intensity had a greater positive affect in the high intensity condition, whereas there was no change at a decreased intensity.
The importance of mood has been widely recognised, for example, Thayer, 1996, stated that “even an unpleasant social interaction can be tolerated if our mood is positive. On the other hand, if we are in a bad mood, an activity that usually is very pleasant, one that otherwise gives us great enjoyment, can be boring and uninteresting”. The International Society of Sports Psychology (ISSP) completed further research into the relationship between exercise and mood and concluded that with exercise, there is a positive change in self perception and well-being, mood, anxiety, depression, pre-menstrual tension, alertness and clear thinking, energy, coping capability, enjoyment of exercise and social contact. All these by-products of physical activity contribute to a positive mood, therefore an increase in quality of life.
Stress is also influenced by exercise in several ways. Stress has been defined as “a relationship with the environment that the person appraises as significant for his or her well-being and in which the demands tax or exceed available coping resources” by Lazarus and Folkman in 1986.There is also ‘Distress’ which is a degree of boredom or anxiety, and ‘Eustress’ which is an optimal level of stress. Experiencing optimal levels of stress contributes to quality of life, but levels of stress are individual to each person, therefore the same experience may cause different levels of stress in different people. Rostad and Long, 1996, stated that that “physical activity is an effective stress management technique”. They alleged that exercise acts as a coping strategy for emotions, a coping technique for problems and it enhances personal resources. Many studies have been made into the theory that stress is influenced by habitual exercise and in 1993, Sinyor et. al, discovered that habitual exercisers recover from stress more rapidly. It has also been discovered that there are altered responses to stress in habitual exercisers (Clayton, 1991). There is less physical illness in times of negative life stress (Brown, 1992). Although these effects are proven, it has been found that there can be an increase in stress level through over-exercise (Mackinnon, 1992). Stress has been proved to lead or facilitate the susceptibility of exercise. In 1985, Roth and Holmes provided a retrospective study, which concluded that people with high stress and low fitness are more susceptible to heart problems, but people with high stress and high fitness have a far smaller chance of having a heart problem. People with low stress have an even smaller chance, so this also backs the statement by Rostad and Long, 1996.
Person Enjoyment is also a product of physical activity. In 1991, Csikszentmihalyi studied personal enjoyment and quoted that it “is an optimal experience of high quality that serves as an end in itself”. The studies provided results that stated the positive affect of exercise had on an individual was believed to be a by-product of personal enjoyment. Personal enjoyment is said to occur more in autoletic or intrinsically enjoyable activities and when someone has personal enjoyment, there are facial expressions and physiological reactions that accompany it.
There are many sources of enjoyment that can be found within sport or physical activity, which will influence quality of life. There are intrinsic, extrinsic and social factors that occur in youths whilst participating in physical activity and there are huge numbers of factors such as, distraction from work, ‘flow’ experiences and positive feedback that cause personal enjoyment in adults. All these factors facilitate quality of life.
Peak moments in exercise have also been said to improve quality of life. Work by Csikszentmihalyi in 1991 and 1997 suggests that peak moments in exercise such as ‘flow’ or peak performance or experience, are rewarding and fulfilling to the individual. Peak experiences can include loss of self-consciousness and can give a perception of control to the individual. These intrinsic feelings can give a person personal enjoyment and satisfaction, which can relieve stress and give a person a positive mood, all which improve quality of life.
Self-esteem and self-efficacy are important characteristics that help to define quality of life. Self-esteem is an individual’s view of themselves as a person and self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that they can do something effectively. The importance of self efficacy and self esteem has been identified by many researchers but in particular Bandura, who in 1995 suggested that individuals with high self efficacy will approach more challenging tasks, expend more effort and persist longer. This research is supported by Ossin-Klien et al as in 1989 the research concluded that running and weight training both had an effect on self efficacy against the control. However, in 1989, King et al conducted a study that consisted of 60 male and 60 female volunteers who were randomly assigned to either the exercise group or the control group. They were asked to complete 11 rating scales during a six-month home-based aerobics programme. The study discovered that the exercise group improved in only three of the eleven scales, which isn’t convincing. However, during the study it was discovered that VO2 max increased by fifteen percent in males and nine percent in females. Although there are clear health benefits that will increase quality of life, the measures of self-esteem in this study aren’t conclusive enough to justify the effects of exercise. King also found that the psychological change is quicker than that of the fitness change. Some cross sectional work has been done that has found that regular exercise is moderately associated with more positive physical self-perceptions, being fit and slim is weakly associated with positive physical self-perceptions and body satisfaction. On the whole, exercise participation is weakly associated with global self-esteem. Bandura in1977 described the importance of self-efficacy, stating “in order to attempt and persist at a behavioural change, one must perceive a personal ability to carry out the behaviour when the outcome is known. According to social cognitive theory, self efficacy develops by a) actual mastery, b) modelling, c) verbal persuasion, and d) emotional signs of coping ability.”
Finally, there are numerous health benefits of participating in physical activity. For example, Holmes and Cappo in 1987 studied hypertension, fitness and stress. The conclusion of the research showed that the hi fitness group had a lower blood pressure when introduced with stressors compared to that of the lower fitness group. In 1998, Holmes and Roth researched heart rate would be affected by numerous stressors with different activity groups. The groups were a) exercise, b) relaxation technique, and c) no treatment. The study found that the exercise group were found to have the lowest heart rate following the introduction of the stressors. The no treatment group were found to have the highest heart rate when introduced to stressors.
There is a vast amount of research been done in the quality of life area of sports psychology, most of which agrees that physical activity increases quality of life through reducing stress, improving self efficacy, improving health and creating personal enjoyment. Although most of the research has concluded that exercise increases quality of life, there are also a number of researchers that disagree and some research areas that haven’t been thoroughly studied.
Exercise Programme
Week 1 -Walk to work, shop or school every day– Only a short walk, 20 mins max. Increases heart rate, in the long run will decrease blood pressure and resting heart rate.
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Monday – Swimming for 40 mins (in a “women’s only” if woman) in a swimming class. Choose 2 different strokes, do 20 mins on each. Low intensity. Make goals i.e. number of lengths in the time limit.
Reasons- Aerobic training gives physiological benefits to the heart e.g. Roth and Holmes, 1985; high fitness group has less chance of heart or health problems. In a class because social characteristics will be displayed to increase self-esteem. Low intensity just for the start, goals will be met; success will lead to increased self-efficacy. 2 different strokes to add variation to prevent tedium and create personal enjoyment.
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Tuesday – Relaxation technique e.g. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) – 20 – 30 mins.
Reason – Proven to decrease stress; improve quality of life. No exercise involved, so allows recuperation from previous days exercise.
Wednesday – Brisk walk with some uphill walking. Around 30 mins. Maybe walk to the shops and carry the bags home. Keep constant pace.
Reason – Light aerobic work can have huge health benefits. The exercise will serve a purpose i.e. doing the weeks shopping. Keep constant pace so that the heart rate remains at an elevated level.
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Thursday – Light exercise within the home e.g. light aerobics, sit-ups, light weights, leg lifts, squats, press-ups. No more than 10 reps to start.
Reasons – Small weights/exercises will, in time, create a firmer body with more muscle and if increased will create body definition or toning which will lead to body satisfaction.
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Friday – Short walk. 20 mins.
Reason – no real health benefit but just the fact that the individual has performed some sort of exercise will improve their mood and relieve stress.
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Weekend – Take part in a non-competitive activity that is really enjoyable e.g. golf, a team sport (friendly league), something that the individual is really interested. Rest on the other day.
Reasons – non-competitive because if the individual takes it too seriously it could be detrimental to quality of life because it could cause stress, may create a bad mood and no enjoyment will be gained. Must be interesting to the individual so that personal enjoyment is achieved and there is an optimal environment for peak moments. Rest on the other day to recuperate and relax.
- Every week the intensity of each exercise apart from the weekend will increase slightly. Goals must be attainable and realistic, but challenging. Increase exercise times by 5 minutes every week and increase exercise repetitions by 5 every week.
Reasons – only small increases in intensity because failure to meet goals will lead to stress but meeting challenging goals will give personal accomplishment and increased self-efficacy.
- The PMR could be taken further into a yoga class dependant on the time availability.
- At the end of the first month, the exercise intensity should remain constant as it is only for health reasons the exercise is being undertaken, not to become an athlete.
The exercise schedule is fairly intense for a 50 year old but on average there is only 20-25 mins every day. This time can be found in any individual’s life but there is no need to increase the time spent on exercising, as the allocated schedule is the maximum to achieve the required goal. The most important thing is that the individual does some aerobic exercise and takes personal enjoyment in an activity.
