Physical activity helps to be happy
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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If the day is not set and nothing around pleases, there is a way out! Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania argue that increasing the normal training regime for a few minutes will be able to return the person's taste for life.
"We found that people's satisfaction with life directly affects their daily physical activity," says Jacqueline Maher, co-author of the study. - The findings confirm the assumption that physical activity is very important for good health and vitality. This circumstance should be taken into account when developing national policies in order to increase the population's satisfaction with life. "
The team studied the effect of physical activity on life satisfaction among participants in the experiment at the age of 18 to 25 years. This age category was chosen not by chance. According to experts, it is at this age that young people are most often prone to thoughts of dissatisfaction with life.
"During this period, young people are experiencing many changes, which is associated with entering college, finding work and many other transformations of their habitual existence," says Dr. Maher. - As a result of any disappointments, their satisfaction with life can fall. That's why we decided to focus on this category. "
The researchers recruited two groups of students from the University of Pennsylvania. The first group, consisting of 190 people, kept diaries and for eight days recorded information about their health and attitude to life. The second group, consisting of 63 people, did the same, but a little longer - for 14 days and entered all the data on a secure website.
At the beginning of the study, all subjects underwent a questionnaire, which gave scientists an idea of the degree of satisfaction with the life of each participant, and also informed about the level of physical activity and self-esteem.
Based on the results of the second group, the specialists wanted to determine whether the improvement in participants' well-being and their attitude towards life changed due to physical stresses or the reason for this was the elimination of factors such as fatigue and nervousness.
Controlling these factors, scientists managed to determine that even a few extra minutes in the gym can significantly improve satisfaction with life.
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