Maximal exercise and acute mood response in women.

The present study was designed to characterize and assess the reliability of acute mood responses to maximal exercise in women. All subjects (N = 22; age = 45 +/- 2.5 yr; BMI = 24.3 +/- 0.9 kg/m2) participated in two maximal walking tests spaced approximately one month apart. The abbreviated Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire was administered immediately prior to and within 5 min following maximal exercise at both occasions. Maximal heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and functional aerobic capacity responses indicated compliance to maximal exertion at both tests. Using repeated measures ANOVA, no significant (p < .05) differences were noted between the two tests for any of the POMS subscales. Significant pre to postexercise increases were noted for fatigue and self-esteem subscales while the tension and vigor affects significantly decreased. Because no interactions were found, these effects are concluded to be independent of the order in which the tests were performed. Additionally, intraclass correlations computed for each respective POMS subscale, ranged between 0.69 and 0.81 for fatigue, tension, vigor, self-esteem, confusion, and total mood disturbance. The anger and depression subscales were noted to have intraclass correlations of 0.29 and 0.43, respectively, and may have been influenced by a floor effect in this study population. It is concluded that the abbreviated POMS questionnaire may be reliably used to assess acute mood responses to maximal exercise in women and that even maximal exertion has the potential to acutely benefit mood by decreasing tension and increasing self-esteem.