Positive effects of brief body exercises on mood: An interventional EMA study

Abstract

Short bouts of physical activity in daily life are associated with affective well-being and may promote mental health. However, the causality and differential effects of distinct physical activity types remain unknown. This study investigated how different brief exercises (cardio, fascia training, breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, body awareness) influence three mood dimensions: energetic arousal, valence and calmness. Using an interventional Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) design, we assessed momentary mood states before and after brief smartphone-based exercise intervention in daily life of 100 participants (females = 52, males = 48, mean age = 32.83). We found overall positive within-person effects of the intervention on energetic arousal (b = 1.69, p = .06), valence (b = 1.80, p < .001) and calmness (b = 9.29, p < .001). Furthermore, results showed that within-person pre-intervention negative mood served as a significant moderator, i.e., energetic arousal increased (b = .19, p = .04), while the effect on calmness (b = .12, p = .06) remained stable across mood states. For valence, the benefit of the intervention slightly attenuated when momentary negative mood was high (b = −.11, p = .04). In addition, specific exercise types produced differential effects: energetic arousal increased most following cardio and fascia training, while calmness increased across all exercise types. Improvements in valence were most pronounced in breathing, yoga, and fascia training. These findings suggest that individualized exercise selection may differentially influence mood responses and highlight the potential of targeted, context-sensitive interventions to optimize affective well-being in daily life. If replicated in patient samples, the findings promise high value for the prevention and intervention of mental health, especially for affective disorders.