The Impact Of Physical Activity Location On Affective States

PURPOSE: Investigate whether participants’ affective states differ when participating in indoor vs. outdoor physical activity (PA). METHODS: Healthy young adults (N = 22, 22.1 ± 3.7 yrs, 15 ♀, BMI = 24.4 ± 3.5 kg/m2) participated in a 20-min indoor baseline, treadmill walk and a 20-min outdoor walk on separate days. Participants reported affective states via a visual analog Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) at t = 0-min, 5-min, 10-min, 15-min, 20-min, along with the Activation Deactivation Adjective Checklist (AD-ACL: energy (E), tiredness (Ti), tension (Te), calmness (C))) pre-exercise and immediately post (IP) exercise. Separate paired samples t-tests were conducted to determine whether PA setting differentially impacted the participants’ affective states during (avg. of FS, FAS t = 5-20 min) and following the exercise (t = 20 min). RESULTS: At baseline, FS, FAS, and AD-ACL subscales between conditions were not significantly different (Ps > 0.05). The baseline indoor vs outdoor PA values M(SD) were: FS 57.5 (16.2) v 59.5 (15.5), FAS 25.3 (19.3) v 30.0 (20.1), E 10.0 (3.2) v 9.3 (3.1), Te 6.2 (2.0) v 6.0 (1.7), Ti 11.0 (3.2) v 10.0 (3.1), and C 14.5 (3.7) v 14.0 (3.1). The IP indoor vs outdoor PA values M(SD) were: FS 63.6 (14.2) v 67.9 (11.1), FAS 30.6 (21.6) v 31.4 (24.1), E 13.0 (2.9) v 11.5 (3.1), Te 6.6 (1.3) v 5.6 (1.2), Ti 10.8 (2.4) v 10.1 (3.4), and C 11.5 (2.8) v 13.4 (2.5). Comparing conditions, Ti, FS (min-20, average), and FASaverage were not significantly different (Ps > 0.05), but FASt = min-20, E, and Te were significantly higher indoors (Ps < 0.05, d = 0.52, d = 0.51, d = 0.85), while C was significantly higher outdoors (P < 0.05, d = 0.73). CONCLUSION: Walking outdoors appears to result in a more calm affective state at the end of exercise (e.g., less energetic, less activated, less tense) compared to indoor walking. Future research should examine the role of outdoor walking as an intervention for relaxation.