Effects of Acute Exercise and Meditation on Mood and Affect in Youth

ABSTRACT

Background: Physical activity (PA) has shown to have beneficial effects on children's health and development. However, a reduced focus on PA programming in schools and home environments may contribute to the increasing prevalence of mental health problems among youth, particularly following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we report preliminary findings from an ongoing randomized controlled trial of acute exercise (light-intensity or moderate-intensity) and meditation on mood and affect in youth. Method(s) Youth participants recruited from the Metro Detroit area (N =25 52% female, 48% black;Mean + SD age =12.92 + 2.18yrs) were randomly assigned to a single 30-minute session of either (1) moderate-intensity treadmill walking, (2) light-intensity stretching, or (3) a seated meditation session. Mood and positive and negative affect were measured pre- and post-session. Result(s) There was a pre-to-post-session reduction in negative mood and affect scores and an increase in positive affect (p's<0.05, d's 0.42-0.67). However, no significant main effects of condition or condition x time interaction were observed (p>0.05). Youth with higher negative baseline mood scores showed greater reductions in negative mood following the 30-minute session, as compared to youth with lower negative moods (r=0.87, p< 0.001). Conclusion(s) Acute light and moderate-intensity exercise, as well as meditation, were associated with reductions in negative mood and affect and increases in positive affect. Further, the antidepressant effects of acute exercise and meditation were more pronounced among youth with poorer baseline moods. These findings have implications for the use of PA and meditation-based interventions to combat mental health problems in youth. Funding Source Wayne State University, National Institute of Mental Health, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Keywords Affect, Adolescent Depression, Mental health, exercise intervention, Mindfulness MeditationCopyright © 2023