Physical inactivity and poor sleep are common in older adults and may interact to contribute to age- and disease-related cognitive decline. However, prior work regarding the associations among physical activity, and cognition in older adults is primarily limited to subjective questionnaires that are susceptible to inaccuracies and recall bias. Therefore, this study examined whether objectively measured physical activity and sleep characteristics, each estimated using actigraphy, are independently or interactively associated with cognitive performance.

Mental health problems are prevalent in adolescence, but sports participation may offer mental health benefits through this developmental period and beyond. Characteristics of sports participation including perceived frequency and competence may differentially predict adolescent depressive, anxious, and somatic symptoms over time and results may further vary according to gender, neighborhood context, and type of sport engagement. Data were collected at two time-points six months apart from an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents ( = 183, female = 51%). Youth sports participation and symptoms were measured using the Youth Self-Report (YSR; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). Path analyses were used to test for main and moderating effects of sports on symptoms. Results showed that categorical sports participation did not prospectively predict any type of internalizing symptoms, but perceived frequency and competence did. Competence predicted lower levels of symptoms while frequency predicted higher levels of symptoms. These results were further moderated by gender, neighborhood, and sport type such that frequency and competence predicted symptoms for girls and for youth in more resourced neighborhoods and who participated in team sports. These findings highlight the impact that sports participation can have on adolescent mental health in an ethnically diverse sample of urban youth.

During the initial outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many countries imposed a total lockdown (containment at home). Although it was still allowed in Belgium to be physically active or exercise with people from your household in the vicinity of your home, engaging in sports or physical activity in a group or club context was no longer permitted. To examine whether a lack of physical activity was potentially threatening to the mental well-being of citizens and vice versa, the present study examined concurrent and reciprocal relationships between physical activity and anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in a 9-week longitudinal design. In a sample of 983 Belgian adults (75.1% female;  = 43.78, range = 18-82 years), we explored these relationships at both the between- and within-person levels through random intercept cross-lagged panel models. The findings indicate that more physical activity was associated with lower symptoms of anxiety and depression and better sleep quality, a finding observed both at the between-person (across weeks; β = -0.25, β = -0.30, β = 0.24,  < .001) and within-person level (within weeks; β = -0.10, β = -0.14, β = 0.11,  < .05). Moreover, at the within-person level, an increase in feelings of anxiety and depression at one moment predicted lower levels of physical activity one week later (β = -0.04, β = -0.06,  < .05). Since poor mental health poses a threat to the maintenance of physical activity, the current findings suggest that it is critical to invest in the mental health of individuals during distressing times.

As many individuals experience potentially traumatic or stressful life events, understanding factors that are likely to promote resilience is imperative. Given the demonstrated efficacy of exercise for depression treatment, we examined if exercise buffers against the risk of developing psychiatric symptoms following life stressors. 1405 participants (61% female) from a longitudinal panel cohort experienced disability onset (43%), bereavement (26%), heart attack (20%), divorce (11%), and job loss (3%). They reported time spent exercising and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale) across three time points collected in two-year intervals: T0 (pre-stressor), T1 (acutely post-stressor), and T2 (post-stressor). Participants were classified in previously identified heterogeneous depression trajectories pre- to post-life stressor: resilient (69%), emerging (11.5%), chronic (10%), and improving (9.5%). Multinomial logistic regression found that more T0 exercise predicted likelihood of classification in resilient versus other groups (all p<.02). Controlling for covariates, only the higher likelihood of classification in resilient versus improving remained (p=.03). Follow-up repeated measures general linear model (GLM) assessed whether trajectory was associated with exercise at each time, controlling for covariates. GLM indicated significant within-subjects effects for time (p=.016, partial η=.003) and time*trajectory (p=.020, partial η=.005) on exercise and significant between-subjects effects of trajectory (p<.001, partial η=.016) and all covariates. The resilient group showed consistent high exercise levels. The improving group had consistent moderate exercise. The emerging and chronic groups were associated with lower exercise post-stressor. Pre-stressor exercise may buffer against depression and ongoing exercise may be associated with lower depression levels following a major life stressor.

To test interventions for increasing aerobic exercise in depressed individuals.

Fear conditioning paradigms are widely used in laboratory settings to discover treatments that enhance memory consolidation and various fear processes (extinction learning, limit return of fear) that are relevant targets of exposure-based therapies. However, traditional lab-based paradigms often use the exact same conditioned stimuli for acquisition and extinction (typically differentiated with a context manipulation), whereas the opposite is true in clinical settings, as exposure therapy rarely (if ever) uses precisely the exact same stimuli from an individual's learning history. Accordingly, this study utilized a novel three-day category-based fear conditioning protocol (that uses categories of non-repeating objects [animals and tools] as conditioned stimuli during fear conditioning and extinction) to determine if aerobic exercise enhances the consolidation of extinction learning (reduces return of fear) and memory (for items encoded during extinction) during subsequent tests of extinction recall. Participants (n=40) completed a fear acquisition (day 1), fear extinction (day 2), and extinction recall (day 3) protocol. On day 1, participants completed a fear acquisition task in which they were trained to associate a category of conditioned stimuli (CS+) with the occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus (US). On day 2, participants were administered a fear extinction procedure during which CS+ and CS- categorical stimuli were presented in absence of the occurrence of the US. After completing the task, participants were randomly assigned to either receive moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (EX) or a light-intensity control (CON) condition. On day 3, participants completed fear recall tests (during which day 1, day 2, and novel CS+ and CS- stimuli were presented). Fear responding was assessed via threat expectancy ratings and skin conductance responses (SCR). During the fear recall tests, the EX group reported significantly lower threat expectancy ratings to the CS+ and CS- and exhibited greater memory of CS+ and CS- stimuli that were previously presented during day 2. There were no significant group differences for SCR. These results suggests that administration of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise following extinction learning contributes to reduced threat expectancies during tests of fear recall and enhanced memory of items encoded during extinction.

Persons with schizophrenia have reduced cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), a predictor of all-cause mortality. Exercise is effective for improving CRF; however, motivational challenges affecting those with schizophrenia impact exercise engagement and maintenance. Virtual Physical Activity Can Enhance Life (Virtual PACE-Life), a multicomponent walking intervention guided by self-determination theory (SDT), was developed to target CRF in this population while addressing motivational difficulties. Virtual PACE-Life includes live video-delivered group walking sessions, Fitbit activity tracking, recommendations for home-based walking sessions, goal setting, and if-then plans. The present study was a 16-week pilot randomized controlled trial that evaluated the impact of Virtual PACE-Life against Fitbit Alone in a sample of 37 participants with schizophrenia on intermediate targets (competence, autonomy, and relatedness satisfaction, autonomous motivation), proximal outcomes (Fitbit-measured steps/day and minutes spent walking), and the primary outcome (CRF using the 6-minute walk test). Blinded research staff completed assessments at baseline, midpoint, posttest, and one-month follow-up. Analysis of covariance and hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to evaluate group differences at each timepoint controlling for baseline. Attendance at Virtual PACE-Life groups was 58% and Fitbit adherence was above 70% in both conditions. Intent-to-treat results indicated greater competence and autonomy satisfaction for Virtual PACE-Life but not in relatedness satisfaction or autonomous motivation. There were no group differences in proximal or primary outcomes during the intervention period. Completer analyses showed improvements in steps/day and autonomous motivation favoring Virtual PACE-Life. Future research is needed to maximize the exercise and CRF benefits of virtual group-based exercise for persons with schizophrenia.

To examine the relationship between features of daily measured step count trajectories and clinical outcomes among people with comorbid obesity and depression in the ENGAGE-2 Trial.

We examined the longitudinal association between physical activity (PA) and the incidence of self-reported diagnosed depression in adults in southern Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the PAMPA (Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health) cohort was used. Data collection for baseline was carried out on June-July 2020, with two follow-up assessments taking place six months apart. An online, self-reported questionnaire assessed depression and PA. Depression was assessed by asking participants whether they were ever diagnosed with depression. We included 441 participants (women: 75.9%; mean age [SD]: 38.0 [13.5]) in southern Brazil. Over the follow-up, 21.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.1%-25.9%) were diagnosed with depression. Insufficiently active (<150 min per week of physical activity) (Incidence rate [IR]: 61.9; 95%CI: 39.5-102.4; p = 0.047) and active (≥150 min per week of physical activity) (IR: 50.4; 95%CI: 31.9-84.0; p = 0.015) participants had reduced IR of depression per 1000 persons-year at risk compared to inactive ones (0 min per week of physical activity) (IR: 99.9; 95%CI: 79.7-126.8). In the adjusted analyses, participants in the insufficient active (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.58; 95%CI: 0.34-0.98) and active (HR: 0.53; 95%CI: 0.31-0.93) group had a lower risk of developing depression than the inactive group. PA both at and out of home reduced the risk of incident depression (HR: 0.49; 95%CI: 0.25-0.98) compared to no physical activity. Endurance (HR: 0.52; 95%CI: 0.28-0.97) and endurance plus strengthening (HR: 0.40; 95%CI: 0.17-0.95) PA reduced the risk of incident depression compared to none. Being physically active during pandemic, regardless of the amount of PA practiced, reduced the incidence of depression in adults in southern Brazil.

The impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health is a global concern. Increased screen time and reduced physical activity due to the lockdown measures have been linked to detrimental mental health outcomes; however, the literature remains limited by cross-sectional and retrospective designs, and consideration of behaviours in isolation. Prospective evidence is necessary to examine whether moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep and screen time influenced changes in mental health.

While physical inactivity is associated with adverse psychological outcomes, less is known about the psychological outcomes associated with sedentary behaviour, and specifically, its mentally active and passive forms. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique opportunity to study associations between these variables in light of widespread stay-at-home mandates and restrictions on outdoor exercise/social activities. Using a cross-sectional dataset acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, we examined whether physical activity and sedentary behaviour were associated with subjective quality of life (sQoL) and subjective cognitive dysfunction, and whether these associations were mediated by depressive symptoms.

Engaging in regular physical activity (PA) is particularly important among individuals with depression, who are at heightened risk for a host of negative health outcomes. However, people with depression are 50% less likely to meet national guidelines for PA and face unique barriers to PA adherence, including lower distress tolerance and motivation for exercise. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may offer promise for increasing PA among adults with depressive symptoms due to its effects on distress tolerance and motivation. Therefore, we developed ACTivity, an ACT-based intervention designed to promote PA among low-active adults with elevated depressive symptoms. Prior to testing the efficacy of ACTivity in an RCT, an important first step is to conduct a preliminary trial to establish feasibility of study procedures for the ACTivity and comparison intervention programs, as well as to establish the credibility/acceptability of the intervention. The purpose of this paper is to describe the ACTivity intervention and the design of this feasibility trial.

Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress are highly prevalent and comorbid with health problems. Despite the apparent systemic nature of post-traumatic stress, recommended treatments neglect trauma's deleterious effects on health. Integrative mind-body treatments for posttraumatic stress, such as Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ), may offer a promising adjunct to first-line treatments.

We sought to elucidate the acute effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) among college students with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were age- and sex-matched across ADHD ( = 18) and non-ADHD groups ( = 18) and both groups completed baseline (non-HIIT) and experimental sessions (HIIT). We examined within- and between-subject effects on a continuous performance task (CPT) and self-reported ADHD and internalizing symptomatology. We found that the degree of improvement on ADHD and depressive symptomatology, as well as processing speed and response variability following HIIT was significantly greater for the ADHD group than the comparison group. Further investigations such as randomized controlled trials focusing on the chronic effects of sustained HIIT interventions are needed to substantiate the potential feasibility and efficacy of HIIT as an intervention. HIIT may be a useful adjunct to psychosocial and/or pharmacological treatments for college students with ADHD because it: (a) yields immediate, acute improvements in executive functioning, ADHD, and mood; (b) promotes improved physical and mental health; (c) poses a relatively low risk of deleterious effects in apparently healthy college students. Even with the need for additional research, current data suggest a single, brief, high-intensity bout of aerobic exercise can yield immediate significant short-term improvements. These improvements may enhance functioning and improve outcomes for college students with ADHD.

Meaning in life is associated consistently with greater self-reported physical activity. The present research sought to replicate this association with the largest sample to date with objectively measured physical activity. Participants between the ages of 40 and 70 years old from the UK Biobank (N=67,038) wore an accelerometer for up to seven days and reported on their meaning in life. Higher meaning was associated with greater engagement in physical activity, an association robust across age, gender, and education. It remained significant accounting for body mass index, depression, and relative deprivation. Further, for every 1-point increase in meaning in life, there was a 14% increase in likelihood of being in the top quartile of physical activity (OR=1.14, 95% confidence interval=1.11, 1.16, p<.001) and a 10% increase in likelihood of engaging in vigorous activity (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.06, 1.15, p<.001). Physical activity may be one behavioral mechanism that links meaning in life to better health outcomes.

While lockdown restrictions in response to COVID-19 indisputably mitigated virus transmission, the aim of this longitudinal study was to establish indirect effects on vulnerable young people's mental well-being and physical activity (PA) levels.

RED January is an annual social media campaign challenging individuals to be physically active every day during January, and highlighting the potential for improvements in mood and wellbeing. Our aim was to explore elements of the challenge that motivate engagement with, and sustained participation in, physical activity for mental health.

While methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been effective in improving opioid use outcomes, most patients continue to engage in unhealthy lifestyles that lead to significant mental and physical health consequences. Interventions targeting increases in physical activity (PA) in MMT patients could have a significant impact on reducing the overall morbidity in these individuals. The purpose of this study was to assess acceptability and feasibility of a 12-week peer-facilitated PA intervention for MMT patients called TREC (Transforming Recovery with Exercise and Community).

The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with psychological distress. Decreased moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and increased sedentary time may be exacerbating pandemic-related symptoms of anxiety and depression, but existing studies exploring these associations are almost entirely cross-sectional.

Reductions in state anxiety have been reported following an acute bout of aerobic exercise. However, less is known regarding anxiety and fear ratings to specific threatening stimuli following an acute bout of aerobic exercise in women with PTSD. Moreover, the mechanisms responsible for the anxiolytic effects of exercise are not fully understood, although recent studies suggest a role for the endocannabinoid (eCB) system. Thus, this study utilized a randomized, counterbalanced approach to examine anxiety and fear ratings to predictable or unpredictable electric shock administration and circulating concentrations of eCBs and mood states immediately following moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (30 min on treadmill at 70-75% maximum heart rate) and a quiet rest control condition in women with and without a history of trauma, and in women with PTSD (N=42). Results revealed that anxiety and fear ratings to unpredictable and predictable threats were significantly (<.05) lower following exercise compared to quiet rest, with correlational analyses indicating those with greater increases in circulating eCBs had greater reductions in anxiety and fear ratings to unpredictable and predictable threats following exercise. Also, there were significant (<.05) reductions in fatigue, confusion, total mood disturbance, and increases in positive affect following exercise for the entire sample. Non-trauma controls and PTSD groups reported significant (<.05) increases in vigor, with additional mood improvements following exercise for the PTSD group (i.e., decreases in state anxiety, negative affect, tension, anger, and depression). Results from this study suggest that aerobic exercise exerts psychological benefits in women with PTSD, potentially due to exercise-induced increases in circulating concentrations of eCBs.

Poor health and low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) contribute substantially to the shortened lifespan of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). Increasing physical activity has demonstrated value; however, there are limited interventions that are accessible and adequately address motivational challenges. This paper reports on an open trial of Physical Activity Can Enhance Life (PACE-Life), a motivational theory-based manualized multicomponent walking intervention. The primary aim was to examine the feasibility of implementing PACE-Life through meeting the recruitment target (n=14), attendance and adherence rates, and participant feedback. The secondary aim was to assess the impact of PACE-Life on intermediate targets (autonomous motivation and satisfaction of autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs), proximal outcomes (Fitbit steps/day and minutes spent walking), the primary outcome (CRF), and secondary outcomes (loneliness, symptoms, resting heart rate, blood pressure, weight, body mass index, and hip and waist circumference). Seventeen participants with SSDs enrolled in a 24-week open trial. Assessments occurred at baseline, midpoint, post-test, and one-month follow-up. The recruitment target was exceeded, the group attendance rate was 34%, Fitbit adherence rate was 54%, and participant feedback indicated satisfaction with the intervention as well as a positive group environment. There was a large improvement in the primary outcome of CRF with 77% of participants achieving clinically significant improvement at post-test. Small and medium effect size increases were observed in autonomous motivation and satisfaction of autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs. Fitbit data and secondary outcomes generally remained unchanged or worsened during the intervention. Results from this open trial indicate that PACE-Life leads to meaningful changes in CRF among people with SSDs.

People with schizophrenia often experience poor health, leading to shortened lifespans. The health of people with schizophrenia may be further exacerbated by increased sedentary behavior, which independently predicts health risk in the general population. However, the prevalence and patterns of objectively measured sedentary behavior in schizophrenia have not been studied extensively on a momentary basis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the cross-sectional association between physical activity levels with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and positive mental well-being in a sample of the UK public social distancing owing to COVID-19.

The aim of this review is to systematically describe and quantify the effects of PA interventions on alcohol and other drug use outcomes, and to identify any apparent effect of PA dose and type, possible mechanisms of effect, and any other aspect of intervention delivery (e.g. key behaviour change processes), within a framework to inform the design and evaluation of future interventions. Systematic searches were designed to identify published and grey literature on the role of PA for reducing the risk of progression to alcohol and other drug use (PREVENTION), supporting individuals to reduce alcohol and other drug use for harm reduction (REDUCTION), and promote abstinence and relapse prevention during and after treatment of alcohol and other drug use (TREATMENT). Searches identified 49,518 records, with 49,342 excluded on title and abstract. We screened 176 full text articles from which we included 32 studies in 32 papers with quantitative results of relevance to this review. Meta-analysis of two studies showed a significant effect of PA on prevention of alcohol initiation (risk ratio [RR]: 0.72, 95%CI: 0.61 to 0.85). Meta-analysis of four studies showed no clear evidence for an effect of PA on alcohol consumption (Standardised Mean Difference [SMD]: 0.19, 95%, Confidence Interval -0.57 to 0.18). We were unable to quantitatively examine the effects of PA interventions on other drug use alone, or in combination with alcohol use, for prevention, reduction or treatment. Among the 19 treatment studies with an alcohol and other drug use outcome, there was a trend for promising short-term effect but with limited information about intervention fidelity and exercise dose, there was a moderate to high risk of bias. We identified no studies reporting the cost-effectiveness of interventions. More rigorous and well-designed research is needed. Our novel approach to the review provides a clearer guide to achieve this in future research questions addressed to inform policy and practice for different populations and settings.

The recent shelter-in-place order issued by the Spanish government (due to the outbreak of the COVID-19) forced the Spanish population to self-isolate at home. The psychological and social effects of this new situation are unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of such scenario on citizens' resilience, as well as the connections between resilience, physical activity (PA), gender, weight and body mass index (BMI) before and after confinement, and COVID-19-related information.

Working mothers are a population experiencing heightened levels of parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the associations between parenting stress, quality of life, and physical activity in a national sample of working mothers who endorsed having been forced to work from home full-time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and examine if physical activity moderates the association between parenting stress and quality of life in this sample of working mothers.

Depression is severely undertreated in Black men. This is primarily because Black men are less likely to seek traditional psychiatric treatment, have less access and more barriers to treatment, and perceive more stigma associated with treatment. Depression contributes to cardiovascular disease (CVD), and Black men have the highest rate of mortality from CVD. Resistance training (RT) can have beneficial effects on both depression and CVD. This study will be the first randomized controlled trial to test the effects of RT on depression and cardiovascular health in a sample of depressed Black men.

Research has consistently shown that regular physical activity may protect against the development and maintenance of depression and anxiety, whereas sedentary behavior may exacerbate depression and anxiety. However, much of the past research in this area has focused on non-clinical populations. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the relations of physical activity and sedentary behavior to depression and anxiety symptom severity among an understudied patient population, patients in residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. This study also sought to determine the extent to which physical activity and sedentary behavior relate to depression and anxiety symptom severity above and beyond an established transdiagnostic risk factor for depression and anxiety, emotion dysregulation. A sample of 41 patients from a residential SUD treatment facility completed a variety of self-report measures focused on physical activity, sedentary behavior, emotion dysregulation, and depression and anxiety symptom severity. Physical activity, but not sedentary behavior, was found to significantly predict depression symptom severity above and beyond emotion dysregulation. Physical activity and sedentary behavior did not significantly predict anxiety symptom severity above and beyond emotion dysregulation. In addition to providing additional support for the relevance of emotion dysregulation to depression and anxiety symptom severity, results suggest that physical activity may be another factor to consider in evaluating risk for depression among patients with SUDs. Although additional research in this area is warranted, results also suggest the potential utility of targeting physical activity in reducing risk for depression among patients with SUDs.

The importance of physical activity (PA) and health outcomes for individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI) has been well documented. It is also established that individuals with SMI engage in high amounts of sedentary behavior and low amounts of physical activity, which contributes to poor health outcomes. This study explores the relationship between community participation, physical activity, and sedentary behavior among individuals with SMI.