The Joint Effect of Exercise and Environment on Perceived Restora7on, Health-‐related A=tudes, and Health-‐related Behaviors: Con7nued Inves7ga7on Kathleen Fuegen, Kimberly Breitenbecher, Nicole Sofranko, Alexandra Morgan, Kayla Vires, Jessica Sharkey
Northern Kentucky University
Background
§ Working intensely on a project can result in mental fa7gue. Spending 7me in nature can restore depleted resources. Exposure to nature significantly improves aSen7on and mood (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008). The rich s7mula7on that nature provides allows one to rely on involuntary aSen7on, which is effortless, giving directed, effor[ul aSen7on the chance to restore itself (Kaplan, 1995). § Walking for as liSle as 10 minutes can improve mood and increase energy (Ekkekakis, Hall, VanLanduyt, & Petruzzello, 2000). A 15-‐minute bout of brisk walking may suppress appe7te and reduce urges of sugar snacking (Taylor and Oliver, 2009). § Research has not yet inves7gated the combined effects of exercise and nature on aSen7on, mood, perceived restora7on, and dietary behavior. Based on previous literature, expected that outcomes will be the most favorable when par7cipants exercise in nature.
Method Par$cipants § The sample included 107 (59.1%) women, 73 (40.3%) men, and 1 (.6%) unknown. Par7cipants iden7fied as Caucasian (79%), African American or Black (9.4%), mul7racial (3.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%), and Middle Eastern (2.2%). The average age was 21.59 years (SD = 7.69).
Measures § Perceived Restora.veness for Ac.vi.es Scale (PRAS; Norling, Sibthorp, & Ruddell, 2008) is a measure of perceived restora7on following physical ac7vity. The PRAS has four subscales: § Being away (e.g., Par7cipa7ng in this ac7vity helps me get away from it all) § Fascina7on (e.g., For me, this ac7vity has many fascina7ng quali7es) § Extent (e.g., Par7cipa7ng in this ac7vity will sustain my interest) § Compa7bility (e.g., This ac7vity matches my fitness and training objec7ves)
§ A4tudes toward the task: To assess a=tudes toward the ac7vity engaged in by par7cipants, we asked them to indicate 1) how likely they would be to sign-‐up for another study session and 2) how likely they would be to recommend that a friend par7cipate in the study.
§ Snack and beverage choices: At the end of the study, par7cipants were offered one beverage and one snack. The snack items include both healthy (e.g., raisins, pretzels, baked potato chips) and unhealthy (candy, regular potato chips) op7ons. The beverages include both healthy (water, diet soda) and unhealthy (non-‐caffeinated soda) op7ons.
Procedure § The researcher greeted the par7cipants and obtained informed consent. § Par7cipants unscrambled words for five minutes in an effort to deplete aSen7on. § Par7cipants completed measures of aSen7on and mood (for details, see “The Joint Effects
of Exercise and Environment on Emo7on and Cogni7on: Con7nued Inves7ga7on”) § Par7cipants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental condi7ons: indoor
exercise, outdoor exercise, indoor rest, or outdoor rest. § Outside exercise par7cipants walked for 15 minutes around a lake on campus § Inside exercise par7cipants walked for 15 minutes on a treadmill in a laboratory § Outside rest par7cipants sat on a bench for 15 minutes adjacent to the lake § Inside rest par7cipants sat for 15 minutes at a desk inside a laboratory § Inside exercise par7cipants watched either a slide show or a video of a path around the campus lake § Inside rest par7cipants watched either a slide show or a video of campus from a bench adjacent to the lake
§ Following the assigned task, par7cipants again completed measures of aSen7on and mood. They also completed the PRAS and the a=tudes toward the task measure. Lastly, par7cipants were offered a snack and a beverage..
Results Perceived Restora$veness for Ac$vi$es Scale (PRAS) § A 2 (Ac7vity: exercise or rest) X 2 (Loca7on: indoors or outdoors) ANOVA conducted on the
PRAS revealed a main effect of Ac7vity, F(1, 170) = 11.74, p = .001, a main effect of Loca7on, F(1, 170) = 21.39, p = .000, and a significant interac7on, F(1, 170) = 10.54, p = .001. Par7cipants who rested indoors reported significantly less restora7on than par7cipants who rested outdoors, par7cipants who exercised indoors, and par7cipants who exercised outdoors, ps < .05. ANOVAs on each subscale also revealed significant interac7ons (see graphs below):
A9tudes toward the task § A 2x2 ANOVA was conducted on each of the a=tude items. The analysis of the
first item was not significant. The analysis of the second a=tude item revealed a significant main effect of Loca7on, F(1,177) = 4.03, p = .046 (see graph).
Snack and beverage choices § We conducted Ac7vity X Loca7on ANOVAs on the number of calories associated with the snack and beverage par7cipants chose before leaving. If par7cipants chose no snack, then calories equaled zero. The analysis revealed no significant effects for snack, ps > .46 nor for beverage, ps > .13. Nevertheless, the paSern of means for beverage choice was intriguing: par7cipants who exercised outdoors consumed fewer calories on average (M = 23.90) than par7cipants who exercised indoors (M = 43.08), rested outdoors (M = 43.75) or rested indoors (M = 35.00).
Discussion
§ The results show that exercise promotes feelings of restora7on. § Being outdoors promotes restora7on whether a person is exercising or simply res7ng. § Res7ng indoors is detrimental to restora7on, even while viewing photos or a video of the outdoors. § Being outdoors, whether res7ng or exercising, leads to more favorable a=tudes than being indoors. § The effects of exercise and environment on dietary choice are inconclusive. § Future research involves examining whether environmental condi7ons (e.g., weather) affect perceived restora7on, a=tudes, and behaviors.
This project was par.ally funded by a Northern Kentucky University College of Arts and Sciences Collabora.ve Faculty-‐Student Project Award and a Northern Kentucky University Undergraduate Research Council Award.
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Willingness to Recommend to a Friend
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Fascina=on
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