Evidence for anxiety , psychological stress , psychological well-being , subjective well-being and social isolation and loneliness varied in volume and effectiveness , but no harmful effects were identified .
The setting and context of walking seems to be important variables .
Background / objectives Walking has well-established positive relationships with , and effects on , physical health .
In contrast , while poor mental health contributes substantially to global health burden , an overview of the benefits from walking has not previously been published .
We aim ed to scope the literature and present what is known , and highlight what is not known , about walking and mental health .
Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults
Physical activity has long been considered beneficial to health and regular exercise is purported to relieve stress . However empirical evidence demonstrating these effects is limited . In this study , we compared psychophysiological responses to an acute psychosocial stressor between individuals who did , or did not , report regular physical exercise . Healthy men and women ( N = 111 ) participated in two experimental sessions , one with the Trier Social Stress Test ( TSST ) and one with a non-stressful control task . We measured heart rate , blood pressure , cortisol , and self-reported mood before and at repeated times after the tasks . Individuals who reported physical exercise at least once per week exhibited lower heart rate at rest than non-exercisers , but the groups did not differ in their cardiovascular responses to the TSST . Level of habitual exercise did not influence self-reported mood before the tasks , but non-exercisers reported a greater decline in positive affect after the TSST in comparison to exercisers . These findings provide modest support for cl aims that regular exercise protects against the negative emotional consequences of stress , and suggest that exercise has beneficial effects in healthy individuals . These findings are limited by their correlational nature , and future prospect i ve controlled studies on the effects of regular exercise on response to acute stress are needed
Evidence for anxiety , psychological stress , psychological well-being , subjective well-being and social isolation and loneliness varied in volume and effectiveness , but no harmful effects were identified .
The setting and context of walking seems to be important variables .
Background / objectives Walking has well-established positive relationships with , and effects on , physical health .
In contrast , while poor mental health contributes substantially to global health burden , an overview of the benefits from walking has not previously been published .
We aim ed to scope the literature and present what is known , and highlight what is not known , about walking and mental health .