Physical Activity (Small or Large) Found to Lead to Increased Happiness
One of the largest surveys conducted in the psychology field utilized 10,000 individuals answers to discover the long awaited answer of "Does Exercise Lead to Happiness?"
The University of Cambridge and University of Essex utilized smartphones to put together a study to see if physical activity, whether it is technically classified as exercise or not, leads to happiness. Earlier studies uncovered mixed results with people who exercised reporting being more happy than those who don't, but others reporting no distinction between activity and level of happiness. All of these studies, however, were done during one period of time and were self-reflective.
This study was conducted using smart phone accelerometers to measure the individuals amount of physical activity, and were then sent two surveys at random parts of the day to measure their emotional states. The researchers found that those who reported more physical activity from their trackers, stated that they were happier more so than those who did not show as much activity throughout the day.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160589
The biggest difference in this study, was the disassociation of exercise and physical activity. In the past studies conducted, those surveyed associated activity only with exercise conducted in a gym or on a trail/path. This study, however, takes into account the amount of activity conducted at work as well. This difference is a real key in being able to associate overall activity with relative happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment