Behavioral Sciences Department, University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
Gerontologist. 2017 Nov 10;57(6):1062-1071. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnw250.
There is little debate that maintaining some level of physical activity in later life conveys positive benefits both physically and psychologically. What is less understood is the extent to which the type of activity or the length of time spent doing it matters when it comes to these benefits on the daily level. Here, we investigated (a) whether the presence of daily purposeful exercise (Exercise) or non-exercise physical activity (Activity) is sufficient for experiencing day-level benefits, or if time spent matters, and (b) whether there are differential well-being benefits of Exercise and Activity on the daily level.
Older adults (N = 127; aged 60-95, Mage = 79.4) filled out surveys for 14 days, reporting daily Exercise and Activity behaviors as well as Positive and Negative Affect (PA/NA), Perceived Stress (PS), Perceived Health (PH), and Sleep Quality (SQ).
Multilevel regression models showed that for purposeful exercise, more time spent was beneficial for PA, NA, and PH, but for PS, only the presence of exercise was important (time did not matter). For non-exercise activity, time did not have as great an influence as presence-doing any form of activity was beneficial for both PA and SQ. Exercise and Activity had largely independent (additive) effects.
Results reveal that both purposeful exercise and non-exercise activity convey independent daily well-being benefits, and that for some aspects of daily well-being, duration does matter. Findings can be applied in the development of physical activity education or engagement programs for older adults.
人们几乎没有争议的是，在晚年保持一定水平的身体活动在身体和心理上都能带来积极的益处。但人们不太了解的是，当涉及到这些日常益处时，活动的类型或花费的时间在多大程度上是重要的。在这里，我们调查了：（a）是否存在日常有目的的锻炼（Exercise）或非运动身体活动（Activity）就足以体验到日常益处，还是时间的长短很重要；（b）在日常层面上，Exercise 和 Activity 是否有不同的幸福感益处。
老年人（N=127；年龄 60-95 岁，Mage=79.4）填写了 14 天的调查问卷，报告了日常的锻炼和活动行为，以及积极和消极情绪（PA/NA）、感知压力（PS）、感知健康（PH）和睡眠质量（SQ）。
多层次回归模型显示，对于有目的的锻炼，花更多的时间对 PA、NA 和 PH 有益，但对于 PS，只有锻炼的存在才是重要的（时间不重要）。对于非运动活动，时间的影响不如存在的影响大——进行任何形式的活动都对 PA 和 SQ 有益。Exercise 和 Activity 具有很大的独立性（累加性）效应。
结果表明，有目的的锻炼和非运动活动都能带来独立的日常幸福感益处，而且对于一些日常幸福感方面，时间确实很重要。研究结果可应用于为老年人制定身体活动教育或参与计划。
