INTRODUCTION

1. Exercise during Leisure Time Positively Impacts Temperament, Sociability, and Cardiac Health Laura E. Tiffin, B.S., Michael M. Knepp, M.S., Chad L. Stephens, M.S., Ryoichi J. P. Noguchi, M.S., Sheri L. Towe, M.S., Christopher S. Immel, M.S., Jared A. Rowland, M.S., & David W. Harrison, Ph.D. RESULTS INTRODUCTION METHOD (Laboratory Portion) Exercise and Positive Affect • 186 of those subjects participated in our in-lab portion which consisted of cardiac recordings. • The electrocardiogram was recorded using the BIOPAC MP30 system (BIOPAC Systems Inc, Goleta, CA) at a sampling rate of 1000 hertz. • DEPENDENT CARDIAC MEASURES: • Heart rate • Heart rate variability (examined through rMSSD) • Previous research has indicated that there is strong support for the existence of acute mood benefits derived form a single bout of exercise (Yeung, 1996). • It has also been found that exercise results in decreased fatigue, anxiety and depression, which promotes independence and sociability (Stern, Gorman, & Kaslow, 1983). • Athletes have been found to have lower baseline heart rates than non-athletes (Katona, McLean, Dighton, & Guz, 1982). • This study examines the general effects of exercise during leisure time in a college sample • HYPOTHESES • Those who exercise often in their free time, as oppose to sometimes, or rarely/never, would have by comparison • Elevated Positive moods • Increased sociability • Lower resting heart rate • Increased heart rate variability Exercise and Social Interactions RESULTS • Individuals who exercised often reported increased positive affect on the ATQ • (F (2,676) =5.995, p<.005). • High exercisers were more extraverted • (F (2,676) =3.754, p<.05) • High exercisers had increased sociability • (F (2,676) =3.12, p<.05). • Those who exercised often had lower resting heart rates • (F (2, 159) =5.074, p<.01) • They also had increased resting heart rate variability • (F (2, 159) =3.159, p<.05). Exercise and Heart Rate METHOD (Online Portion) • This study had 785 students who completed online questionnaires. • The questionnaires pertained to substance abuse, temperament, anxiety, worry, trauma, exercise and emotion regulation. • Exercise levels were assessed in this study utilizing an excerpt from the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin & Shepard, 1997). • Mood and temperament values came from the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ) (Rothbart et al., 2000). • The ATQ subscale on sociability and its factor on extraversion were also used to assess social interaction • Undergraduates ranged form ages 18-24. The sample included male and females with a diverse sampling of ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS • Exercise has many mind-body positive outcomes ranging from mental states to physical well-being. • Those who exercised often in their leisure time were more likely to be in a more positive frame of mind which when coupled with their extraversion increases their chances for social interactions. • Future research can be done to see if increased exercise leads to these positive mind-body effects in individuals who were previously sedentary. Exercise and Heart Rate Variability Correspondence to: Kneppy@vt.edu Presented at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL, May 2008