Mood profile in men and women of all ages is improved by leisure-time physical activity rather than work-related physical activity.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to determine how six mood indicators (vigour, fatigue, depression, anger, confusion, tension) depend on moderate to vigorous physical activity, walking time and sedentary time at work, after working hours and during leisure time, in men and women of different age groups. METHODS: A total of 1,140 individuals aged 18 to 64 years participated in the study. The participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional survey using a snowball sampling method. An online questionnaire was shared through popular social networks and emails within the period October 2019 to June 2020. Mood responses were assessed using The Brunel Mood Scale-LTU. Physical activity was assessed using the long International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, a two-way analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis were used to interpret the data. RESULTS: The survey results showed that vigour and fatigue correlated significantly only with leisure-time moderate to vigorous physical activity. The present results show a significant positive correlation between women and men moods and leisure-time moderate to vigorous physical activity, the length of time walking to work and back home, and negative correlation between moods and leisure-time sedentary behaviour. However, there was no significant correlation between moods and work-related moderate to vigorous physical activity and household moderate to vigorous physical activity, walking at work, and sitting duration at work. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides theoretical implications of the physical activity paradox, justifying the benefits of moderate to vigorous physical activity practiced in different circumstances. According to the regression analysis, exercising men in all age groups moved the most (had a higher moderate to vigorous physical activity level) during leisure time, the highest work-related moderate to vigorous physical activity was observed in men and women with lower education, and the highest household moderate to vigorous physical activity was observed in older age men and women living in rural areas. Clinicians and leaders at all levels of health care should consider the greater importance of leisure-time physical activity for mental health when choosing the most targeted physical activity recommendations for mood profile improvement in men and women of different age groups.

Bibliometric and scientometric analysis on biomarkers and molecular mechanisms for physical frailty and sarcopenia.

Introduction: The influence of physical frailty and sarcopenia (PFS) on the well-being of older people and continuous pressure on the healthcare systems has prompted a research on the pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms of these conditions. Nonetheless some biomarkers have been suggested as potential markers for PFS none of them have been shown to highlight the complex nature of PFS, which reveals that there is a need for an understanding of the possible biomarker candidates. The aim of this study was to identify the current research hotspots, status, and trends in the field of biomarkers and molecular mechanisms for PFS. Methods: The bibliometric and scientometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) and open source software platform Cytoscape v.3.9 (for visualizing and constructing a network of keywords). Data of publications (from 1997 to 2023) related to biomarkers and molecular mechanisms of PFS were obtained (in May 2023) from the database of Science Citation Index Expanded of Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. The keywords obtained from the Scopus database were used to perform a meaningful keyword analysis. A network of keyword relationships was build using Cytoscape. Results: In this study, we present biomarker keywords for PFS in relation to other keywords potentially designating processes and mechanisms and reveal the biomarker identities and current contexts in which these biomarker identities are discussed. Conclusions: Over recent years, scientific interest in the field of PFS has increased and focused on the inflammatory process and probably will be concentrated on myokines (such as cytokines and small proteins) that are synthetized and released by skeletal muscles in response to physical activity. Moreover, proteomic and genetic markers are deeply involved in PFS.

The First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic Strengthened the "Strong" and Weakened the "Weak" Ones.

The aim of this study was to explore how the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which contact communication was severely restricted, changed psychological health indicators, such as subjective assessment of health and depression, impulsivity, stress and emotional intelligence (EI) and how that depended on age, gender, physical activity (PA), sports specificity and body mass index (BMI).We surveyed 6369 before and 2392 people during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were aged 18-74 years. Participants completed the Danish Physical Activity Questionnaire (DPAQ), the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSREIT), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), subjective depression and health self-assessments. One-way and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed to assess the effect of independent variables on the dependent variables of MVPA (METs). Statistical analysis showed that restrictions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not alter moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), except for a significant decrease in MVPA in women aged 18-25 years, or body mass index in women and men of different ages. An increase in depression and impulsivity was observed, especially an increase in unplanned or spontaneous activity. The restrictions during the first wave increased stress in women of all ages and, rather unexpectedly, improved health self-assessment in men.The study showed that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic affected people's subjective assessment of health, depression, stress and impulsivity in two ways: it "weakened the weak ones" and "strengthened the strong ones".

Muscle Oxygenation Measured with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Following Different Intermittent Training Protocols in a World-Class Kayaker-A Case Study.

Training elite kayakers at a distance of 1000 m is associated with aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, while intermittent training, in a variety of forms, is one of the effective ways to improve cardiorespiratory and metabolic function. Thus, this study aimed to investigate muscle oxygenation responses during repetition training (RT), interval training (IT), and sprint interval training (SIT). Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitors were placed on the latissimus dorsi (LD), pectoralis major (PM), and vastus lateralis (VL) of a world-class kayaker during their preparatory period. The intensity of work, relief, and recovery intervals were the independent variables that were manipulated using three different training protocols. The inferential analysis between intermittent training protocols showed significant differences for all variables except total the hemoglobin (tHb) index in LD during bout 2 (F = 2.83, p = 0.1, ηp2 = 0.205); bout 3 (F = 2.7, p = 0.125, ηp2 = 0.193); bout 4 (F = 1.8, p = 0.202, ηp2 = 0.141); and bout 6 (F = 1.1, p = 0.327, ηp2 = 0.092). During the rest bouts, all training protocols showed significant differences for all variables except muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) in the VL during bout 5 (F = 4.4, p = 0.053, ηp2 = 0.286) and tHb in VL during bout 1 (F = 2.28, p = 0.132, ηp2 = 0.172); bout 2 (F = 0.564, p = 0.561, ηp2 = 0.049); bout 3 (F = 1.752, p = 0.205, ηp2 = 0.137); bout 4 (F = 1.216, p = 0.301, ηp2 = 0.1); and bout 6 (F = 4.146, p = 0.053, ηp2 = 0.274). The comparison between IT protocols RT and SIT presented similar results. All variables presented higher values during SIT, except HR results. Finally, the comparison between IT and SIT showed significant differences in several variables, and a clear trend was identified. The results of this study suggest that the application of different intermittent exercise protocols promotes distinct and significant changes in the peripheral effect of muscle oxygenation in response to training stimuli and may be internal predictors of hemodynamic and metabolic changes.

What Types of Exercise Are Best for Emotional Intelligence and Logical Thinking?

The aim of our study was to determine whether EI and LT vs. intuitive thinking (CRT score) are related to participation in professional sports, independent exercise, and exercise at a gym/health center compared with no exercise. We selected 20 of the most popular types of exercise in Lithuania among respondents who exercise independently or at a gym/health center, and we ranked these types of exercise according to the participants' emotional intelligence and logical thinking. We studied 4545 women and 1824 men aged 18-74 years with a focus on whether emotional intelligence and logical thinking are related to type of exercise. Participation in any exercise was significantly related to emotional intelligence in men and women. Women in professional sports solved the lowest number of logic tasks. Women who exercise independently or at a gym/health center had better logical thinking than those who do not exercise. Among men, logical thinking was not associated with the type of exercise. We found the tendency for a negative correlation between EI and LT in the 20 most popular types of exercise. Emotional intelligence correlated positively with participation in MVPA. The highest emotional intelligence was in women who participate in dance or Pilates and in men who participate in martial arts, wrestling, boxing, or yoga. Logical thinking was the highest in men who participate in triathlon and in women who perform CrossFit. Men who practice martial arts or track and field and women who participate in cycling were in the top five for emotional intelligence and logical thinking.

Do Physical Activity, BMI, and Wellbeing Affect Logical Thinking?

We studied 6368 people (4544 women and 1824 men; aged 18-74 years). The research goal was to determine whether the Cognitive Reflection Test score (logical thinking compared with intuitive thinking) depends-and in what way it depends-on the healthy lifestyle components and emotional health-related components as well as age (18-74 years) and gender. We established that analytical vs. intuitive thinking depended on components of a healthy lifestyle, physical activity, sleep, eating habits, smoking and alcohol consumption, specificity of sporting activity, body mass index, and emotional health-related components (stress, depression, impulsivity, subjective health, emotional intelligence), as well as age and gender. We found that logical thinking was not associated with sleep, moderate-to-vigorous PA, impulsivity, subjective health, and components of a healthy lifestyle. However, logical thinking decreases with age, gender (higher in men than in women), BMI (decreases in both genders over the second degree of obesity), depression (the more severe depression in women, the worse their logical thinking), sedentary behavior (people who sat for longer periods had more difficulty solving problems), and in professional sportswomen (logical thinking is worse in professional sportswomen than in sedentary women, amateur sportswomen, or women who use gyms). Finally, we determined inverse correlations between logical thinking, emotional intelligence, and stress.

Physiological Responses and Technical-Tactical Performance of Youth Basketball Players: A Brief Comparison between 3x3 and 5x5 Basketball.

This study aims to examine youth players' physiological responses and technical-tactical performance when playing simulated 3x3 and 5x5 basketball games. Fifteen well-trained male basketball players (16.6 ± 0.2 years old) participated in scrimmage basketball games under two different conditions: 3x3 (half-court) and 5x5 (full-court). The players' heart rate, muscle oxygen saturation and total hemoglobin data were collected and computed to describe physiological responses, while video analysis was used to characterize their technical-tactical performance. A Bayesian one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to quantify the predictive influence of both game conditions on the physiological and the technical-tactical variables. The results indicated that different game conditions influenced the players' physiological responses slightly, as only hemoglobin sample entropy increased between the 3x3 and 5x5 game scenarios. Conversely, statistical differences in most of the technical-tactical variables were moderate and decisive in favour of the game condition model. Overall, this study emphasizes that playing 3x3 and 5x5 basketball games lead to relatively negligible differences in the players' physiological response but pronounced variations in their technical-tactical performance. Therefore, important implications may be drawn to the applied field as the specificity of technical-tactical adaptations when playing 3x3 or 5x5 formats should be considered by basketball coaches to better design the training sessions for players that fall within our sample age category.

Physical Activity, Stress, Depression, Emotional Intelligence, Logical Thinking, and Overall Health in a Large Lithuanian from October 2019 to June 2020: Age and Gender Differences Adult Sample.

This study aimed to examine relationships and group differences among adult people's (aged 18-74) physical activity (PA), expression of stress, depression, emotional intelligence (EI), logical thinking (LT), and overall health assessment. Two hypotheses were formulated before the study. The first hypothesis is that overweight and obesity in young adults (18 to 34 years) females and males, in particular, should increase sharply and this should be associated with decreased PA, abruptly deteriorating subject health, increased stress, depression, and poorer emotion management and EI. Second hypothesis: We further thought that the better people's reflective thinking, the more they should live a healthier life (e.g., exercise more and eat healthier), their overweight and obesity should be small or none. We aimed to confirm or reject these two hypotheses. We applied a quantitative cross-sectional study design. The study results revealed that during the lifespan of 18-24 and 25-34 years (young adults) there was a sharp increase in overweight and obesity, a decrease in PA (and especially vigorous physical activity (VPA)) (and this was particularly evident in the male), while research participants felt less stress and depression, subjective assessment of health did not change, and EI increased steadily with age (18-24 to 65-74 years). The higher the EI of the research participants from 18-24 to 65-74 years of age the higher their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), the less stress and depression they felt. Based on the results, it can be said that both females and males prefer PA "with a hot heart rather than a cold mind." We base this conclusion on the fact that females and males who have the highest EI also have the highest MVPA while LT is not associated with MVPA.

Did COVID-19 Pandemic Change People's Physical Activity Distribution, Eating, and Alcohol Consumption Habits as well as Body Mass Index?

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether COVID-19 had an impact on people's (aged 18-74) physical activity distribution, eating, and alcohol consumption habits as well as body mass index. We interviewed 6369 people (4545 women and 1824 men) in Lithuania before the COVID-19 pandemic started and 2392 during COVID-19 (1856 women and 536 men). They were aged 18-74 years. We found that both genders had not stopped their physical activity (PA) completely because of lockdown imitations (for example, prohibition from attending sport clubs), but they started doing different physical exercises at sport clubs. We determined the PA distribution according to the Danish Physical Activity Questionnaire (DPAQ). Despite increases in independent PA and the quantity of light PA, the amount of total energy used in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) units per day decreased significantly for both genders irrespective of age. Although the amounts of sedentary behavior, moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA) or a combination of MPA and VPA (MVPA) did not change significantly. Surprisingly, lockdown reduced the duration of sleep for older women but increased their amount of intense VPA (>6 METs). However, the amount of intense VPA decreased for men. Both genders reported overeating less during the pandemic than before it, but did not start consuming more alcohol, and their body mass index did not change. Thus, the COVID-19 in Lithuania represented 'good stress' that mobilized these individuals to exercise more independently and overeat less.