Affective Responses to Acute Bouts of Aerobic Exercise,Mindfulness Meditation,and Combinations of Exercise and Meditation: A Randomized Controlled Intervention

Abstract

Single bouts of aerobic exercise and meditation have been shown to induce positive affect. In a novel experimental paradigm, we sought to examine the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise and meditation, as well as exercise and meditation combined on affect among young adults. Participants (N = 110, mean age = 21.4 years) were randomly assigned to walk, meditate, walk then meditate, meditate then walk, or to sit (inactive control). All walking and meditation bouts were 10 minutes in duration. Participants’ affect was monitored before and after the intervention using the Exercise Induced Feelings Inventory. Significant group × time interaction effects were observed for three Exercise Induced Feelings Inventory subscales, including revitalization (p < .001), tranquility (p = .02), and exhaustion (p = .03); the group × time interaction for Exercise Induced Feelings Inventory positive engagement was nonsignificant (p = .16). A single bout of brisk walking or meditation, as well as a combination of walking and meditation, may positively influence affect. There is some evidence to suggest that affective benefits may be greater following meditation or a combination of meditation and walking, when compared with walking alone.

Keywords

Affect combination exercise psychology meditation physical activity walking

Introduction

It is well understood that the effects of exercise extend beyond the physical health domain (Penedo & Dahn, 2005). Certainly, exercise has been shown to associate with a multitude of psychological outcomes (Scully, Kremer, Meade, Graham, & Dudgeon, 1998). Affect is one psychological construct that has been studied within the exercise domain. Importantly, research has focused on evaluating affective responses to exercise (Ekkekakis & Petruzzello, 1999). Low compliance rates (i.e., 21.4%) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014) for the minimum exercise recommendations (i.e., 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and two times per week muscle-strengthening activities for all major muscle groups), despite people generally knowing that there are health benefits associated with exercise (Louis Harris and Associates, 1983), would seem to suggest that there are a number of significant reasons beyond a lack of education for why people do not exercise.

One culprit may be that people who willingly try exercise have a negative affective experience (i.e., they identify exercise as being unpleasant). This could be due to a number of psychological (e.g., experiencing social physique anxiety) and/or physiological (e.g., shortness of breath, joint pain) reasons (Ekkekakis & Lind, 2006). There is evidence to suggest that our affective judgments of an experience may have a greater influence than our instrumental judgments (e.g., knowing that exercise is associated with health benefits) when forming attitudes related to exercise (Lowe, Eves, & Carroll, 2002). Consequentially, and unfortunately, associating exercise with being unpleasant may ultimately result in avoidance of exercise in the future (Ekkekakis, Vazou, Bixby, & Georgiadis, 2016). Thus, it is of great interest to develop targeted interventions aimed at maximizing the positive affective response to exercise. A review on exercise affect has identified that one’s affective experience during a bout of exercise may be the strongest predictor of their subsequent formation of an intention to engage in exercise again in the future, as well as their future likelihood to actually engage in a bout of exercise (Rhodes, 2015). See the review by Williams (2008) for a thorough discussion of the relationships between exercise, affect, and adherence to exercise, which indicates that if we wish to promote long-term exercise behaviors, it would be of benefit to determine best ways to make exercise a more pleasurable experience.

One way to maximize affective response to exercise may be to allow individuals to select their exercise intensity (Ekkekakis, Hall, & Petruzzello, 2008; Williams, 2008). This may promote a sense of autonomy (Thogersen-Ntoumani & Ntoumanis, 2006), may enhance one’s perceptions of mastery (Paluska & Schwenk, 2000; Szabo, 2003) (as they are likely to choose something within their physical capabilities), and may increase levels of exercise-related self-efficacy (Paluska & Schwenk, 2000). These constructs may contribute to a cognitive appraisal of that bout of exercise being pleasurable (i.e., a more positive affective experience). Another psychological mechanism that could be playing a role with exercise enhancement of affect may be the ability for exercise to serve as a “distraction” from life stress, feelings of anxiety, negative mood, and so on (Strohle, 2009). Arguably, there may be great benefit in allowing exercise to be a time of “unplugging” from the underlying sources of our stress. Notably, both exercise (Stathopoulou, Powers, Berry, Smits, & Otto, 2006) and meditation (Jain et al., 2007; Kumar, Feldman, & Hayes, 2008) have also been shown to decrease ruminative tendencies, which have been associated with negative psychological health outcomes (e.g., anxiety symptomology) (Bishop, 2007; Zeidan, Martucci, Kraft, McHaffie, & Coghill, 2014). Following this logic, exercise may serve as a greater distractor if individuals are able to calm their minds (i.e., slow or minimize their thoughts), allowing them to be fully invested in the exercise experience (e.g., not thinking about things they have on their “to-do list” for the day, or (in a student population) the final examination they have coming up in a few days).

The idea of calming one’s mind to facilitate greater awareness in the present moment is a central construct of mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn (1990) has defined mindfulness as awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. Single sessions of mindfulness meditation have been shown to increase levels of state mindfulness (S. Johnson, Gur, David, & Currier, 2015). It seems logical that beginning a bout of exercise from a place of increased state mindfulness may promote a more mindful exercise experience, ultimately aiding in one’s ability to distract from things outside of the exercise experience itself (i.e., meditation may offer a mindfulness “priming” effect). Such a notion, as will be described herein to follow, was of interest to us within the present study.

The evaluation of the effectiveness of meditation as form of therapy often involves training-based protocols whereby meditation is practiced multiple times per week for a number of weeks (e.g., 8- to 10-week mindfulness-based stress reduction programs) (Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, & Walach, 2004), or is practiced intensely for a number of hours/days at a time (Al-Hussaini et al., 2001; Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011; MacLean et al., 2010). Our group, however, has become interested in the potential benefits that may be associated with a single session of meditation. Notably, previous work has shown single sessions of meditation (as brief as even five minutes) (Hooper, Davies, Davies, & McHugh, 2011; Hopthrow, Hooper, Mahmood, Meier, & Weger, 2017; Mahmood, Hopthrow, & Randsley de Moura, 2016) to elicit significant psychological changes (S. Johnson et al., 2015). Especially considering the demographic of the current sample (mainly college-aged students), who often cite a lack of time for a reason they do not engage in exercise (Ebben & Brudzynski, 2008), it is of interest for us to investigate the effectiveness of a single-session of brief bouts of exercise and meditation. A student may learn that people benefited from an eight-week exercise or meditation program and think, “I don’t have time to try something like that.” Alternatively, they may hear about benefits from 10 minutes of exercising or meditating and think, “I have 10 minutes to spare in my busy schedule; maybe I’ll try meditating today.” Encouragingly, there are many free smartphone applications available to guide individuals through a meditation session, making it a realistic activity to promote for someone to try on their own during their leisure time.

Few studies have comparatively evaluated the psychological outcomes associated with exercise versus meditation. Notably, exercise and meditation may offer distinct psychological benefits (e.g., meditation has been shown to reduce physiological arousal levels (Vempati & Telles, 2002) whereas exercise is typically associated with increased levels of arousal when compared with seated controls (Lambourne & Tomporowski, 2010); arousal levels may influence certain psychological states (Epstein, 1967). Moreover, a recent systematic review (Edwards & Loprinzi, 2017) demonstrates that meditation may be better at improving chronic neck pain and other pain-related conditions, whereas exercise may be better at improving physical health-related quality of life. Likely related to these practices potentially offering unique benefits, there has been an emergence of a number of interventions that incorporate some aspect of both meditation and exercise. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, for example, includes a “mindful walking” aspect (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). Osho (1996) meditation is a dynamic form of meditation that involves seated meditation, jumping and shouting an intentional mantra, and a celebratory dance component; mental and physical (MAP) training (Alderman, Olson, Brush, & Shors, 2016) involves a seated meditation followed by a bout of aerobic exercise.

Currently lacking in the exercise/meditation literature are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of single sessions of these modalities as separate or combined modalities. As such, the purpose of the present study was to examine, side-by-side, the affective outcomes associated with a single-session of aerobic exercise (brisk walking), a single-session of mindfulness meditation, as well as a combination of aerobic exercise and mindfulness meditation. A secondary objective of the present study was to determine whether the order of exercise and meditation has a significant influence on affective experience. We hypothesized that (a) exercise, meditation, and combinations of exercise and meditation would facilitate affective improvements; (b) combinations of exercise and meditation would result in more positive affective changes (than exercise or meditation alone); and (c) meditating prior to exercising would result in more positive affective changes than exercising prior to meditating.

Methods

Study design and participants

This study was approved by the authors ethics committee. Participant consent was obtained prior to participation. Participants completed several baseline assessments (detailed herein to follow), including a baseline assessment of affect. Although affect was our main outcome of interest, additional baseline assessments were implemented to evaluate whether baseline psychological functioning and meditation/exercise experience were similar across the groups. Following baseline measurements, participants were randomized to a walking, meditation, walking then meditation, meditation then walking, or control group; all walking bouts and meditations lasted for 10 minutes. We intentionally selected a duration of 10 minutes for exercise, given that 10 minutes is what the US Department of Health and Human Services recommends as the shortest duration of exercise to elicit health benefits. An additional rationale for selecting a brief exercise bout is the fact that most adults do not adhere to minimum physical activity guidelines (Schoenborn & Stommel, 2011). One strategy to increase activity levels may be to educate people on potential benefits they may obtain from a single, brief session of exercise. Thus, it is imperative that research studies evaluate these shorter bouts of exercise in attempts to better delineate these possible benefits. The meditation session was matched in duration to the exercise session; however, a 10-minute meditation offers a relatively novel contribution to the acute meditation literature, given that this “short-duration” is under-investigated when compared with studies utilizing acute five-minute sessions (Hopthrow et al., 2017; Mahmood et al., 2016; Tan, Lo, & Macrae, 2014; Weger, Hooper, Meier, & Hopthrow, 2012). Following the intervention, participants’ affect was reassessed. Participants were excluded if they (a) were not within the target age range (18–53 years) or (b) exercised within five hours or consumed caffeine within three hours of the laboratory visit.

Walk and meditation protocol

Participants were randomized into walk (n = 22), meditation (n = 22), walk then meditation (n = 22), meditation then walk (n = 22), or control (n = 22) group. For the walk protocol, participants selected a brisk walking pace. Specifically, participants were asked to “select a pace you would walk at if you were running late for class, a meeting, or to trying to catch the bus,” and to choose a speed they felt they could maintain for the duration of the walk. Although we wanted participants to have a choice in selecting their speed, we also desired for the walk to be brisk in nature, intending for a stimulus that would be considered a moderate intensity (as opposed to a light intensity exercise). Notably, at least moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is what is recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, the benefits of moderate exercise may be superior to light exercise (e.g., moderate physical activity has been shown to be a better predictor of longevity than light physical activity) (Lee & Paffenbarger, 2000). For the meditation protocol, participants engaged in a 10-minute guided mindfulness meditation; mindfulness meditation is commonly defined as nonjudgmental attention to experiences in the present moment (Chiesa & Malinowski, 2011). The implemented guided meditation cues focused on breath/body present-moment awareness (through deep-breathing exercises and a full-body scan), limiting mind-wandering/letting go of distractions or worries (i.e., enhanced attentional control), and cultivating relaxation. A Yoga Alliance 200-hour registered yoga teacher (author MKE) conducted the meditation sessions. Participants either reclined in a seated computer chair with both feet propped up on a bench or laid down on a provided yoga mat. It was important to give participants this option (sit vs. lie down), as we wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible during the meditation. All participants had their eyes closed during the meditation. For the combination interventions (walk then meditation, meditation then walk), there was an approximately five-minute transition time between protocols. Participants randomized into the control group were asked to sit on a computer chair within the laboratory for 10 minutes. They were asked to relax and sit quietly with their eyes open.

During all protocols, heart rate was assessed via a Polar heart rate monitor. We report heart rate at eight time points: baseline, five minutes into the walk, nine minutes into the walk, five minutes into the meditation, nine minutes into the meditation, and three minutes post walk/meditation. Heart-rate assessments during the meditation were made discretely. The researcher conducting the meditation was positioned close enough to the participant to be able to see (without having to get up and move) the Polar wristwatch displaying participants’ heart rate, thus minimizing any likelihood of distraction from the meditation.

Assessment of affect

Affect was assessed via the Exercise Induced Feelings Inventory (EFI; Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993), which includes 12 items evaluating four subscales of affect: positive engagement, revitalization, tranquility, and physical exhaustion. Participants are instructed to rate the extent to which each item (word) describes how they feel “at this moment in time” on a 0 (do not feel) to 4 (feel very strongly) Likert scale. Three items represent feeling “positively engaged” (e.g., enthusiastic); three items represent feeling “revitalized” (e.g., refreshed); three items represent feeling “tranquil” (e.g., peaceful); and three items represent feeling “exhausted” (e.g., fatigued). Composite scores were calculated for each of the four subscales (i.e., the three scores within each subscale were summed). Original psychometric assessment of this scale revealed good internal consistency reliability, evidence for concurrent and discriminant validity, as well as good sensitivity to exercise manipulations. Calculated internal consistency (i.e., Cronbach’s alpha) values for the present sample are displayed in Table 3; with the exception of two values, all internal consistencies were above .70, which indicates that the EFI subscales had good levels of internal consistency. Details on the development and initial validation of this survey can be found elsewhere (Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993).

Additional assessments

As displayed in Table 1, several surveys were implemented to assess baseline demographic, behavioral, and psychological characteristics across the three groups. Briefly, the assessed parameters included self-reported physical activity (via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire- Short Form) (Craig et al., 2003), trait mindfulness (via the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory) (Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmuller, Kleinknecth, & Schmidt, 2006), typical responses to stressful situations (via the Responses to Stressful Experiences Scale) (D. C. Johnson et al., 2011) emotion regulation (via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) (Gratz & Roemer, 2004), executive functioning abilities (via the Dysexecutive Questionnaire), as well as the participants’ aversion to treadmill-based exercise/meditation and their exercise/meditation experiences and attitudes. Height was assessed using a standard stadiometer and weight was assessed using a standard scale; height and weight were used to calculate body mass index (BMI).

Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of the analyzed sample (N = 110).

	Group
Variable	Walking (n = 22)	Meditating (n = 22)	Walking + Meditation (n = 22)	Meditation + Walking (n = 22)	Control (n = 22)	p Value^a
Age (mean years)	21.5 (2.3)	22.6 (3.2)	21.2 (2.3)	20.7 (1.7)	20.9 (2.5)	.11
Gender (% male)	27.3	22.7	27.3	22.7	36.4	.85
Race (%)						.57
Mexican American	0	4.5	0	0	4.5
Other Hispanic	4.5	0	0	4.5	0
Non-Hispanic White	54.5	72.7	77.3	59.1	77.3
Non-Hispanic Black	31.8	13.6	13.6	13.6	9.1
Other	9.1	9.1	9.1	22.7	9.1
BMI (mean kg/m²)	25.3 (5.4)	24.3 (4.4)	23.1 (4.1)	24.4 (4.2)	24.6 (4.5)	.64
MVPA (mean minutes)	378.1 (414.2)	294.4 (247.1)	268.6 (213.4)	287.4 (137.5)	328.5 (416.3)	.79
Previous meditation experience (%)	36.4	59.1	63.6	50.0	59.1	.38
Currently meditating (%)	50.0	50.0	36.4	62.5	50	.86
Last meal, mean hours	5.2 (4.8)	4.6 (4.5)	3.8 (3.1)	4.4 (4.7)	4.0 (3.7)	.82
Dysexecutive function mean score	45.3 (10.4)	43.1 (10.0)	44.9 (12.6)	42.5 (12.3)	47.8 (14.9)	.64
Emotion regulation, mean score	67.6 (15.1)	73.5 (21.1)	72.7 (18.2)	73.7 (18.8)	72.6 (19.8)	.83
Mindfulness, mean score	42.4 (7.4)	40.3 (7.0)	39.2 (5.3)	38.9 (5.3)	39.5 (7.2)	.40
Stress responses, mean score	70.9 (10.9)	67.0 (12.6)	67.1 (11.4)	68.2 (10.0)	66.0 (11.2)	.68
Heart rate, mean
Resting	71.7 (11.0)	75.8 (10.9)	74.4 (10.7)	70.1 (11.0)	67.9 (12.6)	.15
Five-minute exercise	107.6 (19.6)	N/A	111.7 (18.1)	104.4 (22.8)	N/A	.49
Nine-minute exercise	107.1 (19.9)	N/A	113.1 (17.2)	108.8 (22.7)	N/A	.60
Five-minute meditation	N/A	65.2 (13.5)	68.7 (11.6)	63.1 (9.5)	N/A	.32
Nine-minute meditation	N/A	64.1 (14.3)	66.8 (10.4)	61.5 (9.8)	N/A	.36
Five-minute control	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	69.2 (14.5)
Nine-minute control	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	68.9 (14.8)
Three-minute post	76.2	74.6 (13.8)	75.3 (12.5)	71.5 (15.4)	67.9 (14.1)	.46
RPE, mean	9.5 (1.7)	N/A	9.0 (2.4)	9.5 (1.8)	N/A	.69
Speed, mean m/h	3.2 (.4)	N/A	3.8 (1.5)	3.5 (1.7)	N/A	.38

Note: All values presented as mean (standard deviation). ANOVA: analysis of variance; BMI: measured body mass index; Currently meditating: proportion of the group who reported having previous meditation experience who were practicing meditation at the time; Dysexecutive function: composite score from the Dyxexecutive Questionnaire (DEX); Emotion regulation: composite score from the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS); Last meal: time elapsed since last consuming food; Mindfulness: composite score from the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI); MVPA: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; N/A: not applicable; Previous meditation experience: proportion of the group who had any previous experience with meditation; Resting = resting heart rate; RPE: rating of perceived exertion using standard Borg 6–20 rating scale; Speed: selected miles per hour to walk at during treadmill walking bout; Stress responses: composite score from the Responses to Stressful Experiences Scale (RSES).

^ap Values calculated via ANOVA tests of between-subject effects (continuous data) and via chi-square tests (categorical data).

Statistical analysis

Analysis was computed using SPSS software (version 24.0) and Stata software (version 12.1). Demographic differences between the five groups at baseline were compared via analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests of between-subject effects for continuous variables (e.g., age, BMI, physical activity, mindfulness) and via chi-square tests for any nominal data (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity). All assumptions for repeated measures ANOVA assessments were checked and were confirmed to have not been violated. For each split-plot analysis, condition (i.e., walk, meditation, walk then meditation, meditation then walk, or sitting) served as the between-subjects variable whereas time (i.e., baseline & post-intervention) served as the within-subjects variable. Partial eta-squared (η²) effect size estimates were calculated for all repeated-measures analyses. Following the repeated measures ANOVA assessments, paired t tests comparing baseline versus postintervention scores were implemented as post-hoc tests to determine which of the five groups experienced significant changes in affect. In addition, one-way ANOVA assessments were conducted to compare EFI pre-to-post change scores for each group. For the one-way ANOVA analyses, we employed Tukey post-hoc contrast tests to evaluate between which groups any significant change score differences existed (e.g., walk group vs. control group, meditate group vs. control group, etc.).

Results

Sample characteristics

Descriptive characteristics of the study sample are displayed in Table 1. Demographic comparisons between the five groups revealed that there were no statistically significant differences among the groups with regards to age (mean age = 21.4 (standard deviation, SD = 2.4)), gender (27% male), race/ethnicity (68% Non-Hispanic white), BMI (mean BMI = 24.7 kg/m² (SD = 4.5)), physical activity level (mean moderate-to-vigorous physical activity = 333.7 minutes/week (SD = 285.7)), trait mindfulness, typical responses to stressful situations, emotion regulation, executive function abilities, time since previous meal, exercise enjoyment, or meditation experience.

Manipulation check

After completing the meditation, participants were provided (via survey assessment) a definition of mindfulness: Mindfulness is often referred to as a mental state characterized by full attention to internal and external experiences as they occur in the present moment. Mindfulness is additionally characterized by non-judgment of, and openness to current experiences (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Based on this definition, participants were asked to rate the extent to which they felt they (a) had practiced mindfulness, (b) felt connected to their meditation experience, (c) experienced moments of “inner peace”, and (d) were able to return to the meditation experienced if they noticed mind-wandering. Response options ranged from 1 (not at all) to 4 (completely). The average response (1–4) for all four questions was 3.2 (SD = .4). For each of the four items, no participants responded with a score of 1. The majority of responses for each of the four questions were 3s or 4s (94%, 86%, 86%, and 89%, respectively). As such, we feel confident that our meditation elicited the intended effects.

In addition, at the end of the visit, participants were asked to rate the extent to which they enjoyed their meditation or exercise bout. The statements read, “How much did you enjoy your exercise bout?” and “How much did you enjoy your meditation bout?” Response options ranged from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). Nearly all participants rated exercise as 3 or higher, with 79% of participants rating 4 or 5; one participant responded with 1, indicating that they did not enjoy their exercise experience. For meditation, 89% of participants rated 4 or 5; one participant responded with 1 and three participants responded with 2, indicating that these four individuals did not enjoy their meditation experiences.

Main outcomes

Table 2 displays the EFI scores pre- and post-intervention. A significant group × time interaction effect emerged for revitalization (p < .001, η²= .19), tranquility (p = .02, η²= .11), and exhaustion (p = .03, η²= .10) subscores, but not for the positive engagement subscore (p = .16, η²= .06). Notably, the calculated partial eta-squared values suggest that these effects were moderately sized (Cohen, 1988). Results are displayed graphically in Figures 1 –4. Post-hoc paired t tests revealed that positive engagement scores nonsignificantly increased in the walk (p = .36), meditate (p = .59), walk-then-meditate (p = .20), and meditate-then-walk (p = .23) groups, but decreased significantly in the control group (p = .02). Revitalization scores significantly increased in the walk (p = .02), meditate (p < .001), walk-then-meditate (p < .001), and meditate-then-walk (p < .001) groups, but nonsignificantly decreased in the control group (p = .50). Tranquility scores increased significantly in the meditate (p = .003), walk-then-meditate (p = .001), and meditate-then-walk (p = .003) groups, but remained unchanged in the walk (p = 1.0) group; tranquility scores nonsignificantly increased in the control group (p = .06). Exhaustion scores decreased significantly in the walk (p = .009), meditate (p < .001), walk-then-meditate (p = .003), and meditate-then-walk (p < .001) groups, but nonsignificantly increased in the control group (p = .87).

Figure 1.

Baseline versus postintervention EFI positive engagement scores.

Figure 2.

Baseline versus postintervention EFI revitalization scores.

Figure 3.

Baseline versus post-intervention EFI tranquility scores.

Figure 4.

Baseline versus post-intervention EFI exhaustion scores.

Table 2.

Baseline versus postintervention EFI scores by group.

	Group
EFI subscale	Walk	Meditate	Walk then meditate	Meditate then walk	Control	p Value^a
Positive engagement						.16
Baseline	7.3 (2.6)	8.0 (3.0)	7.1 (2.7)	7.9 (3.0)	7.0 (2.1)
Post	7.8 (3.2)	8.2 (2.9)	7.9 (2.4)	8.7 (3.1)	6.2 (2.9)
Revitalization						<.001
Baseline	4.8 (2.9)	6.1 (3.0)	5.0 (2.8)	4.7 (2.5)	4.8 (2.8)
Post	6.7 (3.7)*	8.5 (2.2)**	8.1 (2.5)**	8.1 (3.2)**	4.5 (2.6)
Tranquility						.02
Baseline	8.2 (2.9)	9.2 (2.6)	8.5 (2.3)	8.8 (2.1)	8.7 (2.7)
Post	8.2 (3.2)	10.6 (1.8)**	10.4 (1.8)**	10.1 (1.9)**	9.3 (2.6)
Exhaustion						.03
Baseline	5.6 (3.2)	5.3 (3.3)	5.6 (3.3)	4.8 (3.5)	5.7 (2.9)
Post	3.9 (3.7)**	3.6 (2.7)**	3.5 (3.1)**	3.3 (3.2)**	5.8 (3.0)

Note: All values presented as means of the EFI subscale composite scores (standard deviation). ANOVA = analysis of variance; EFI: Exercise Induced Feelings Inventory.

^ap Values represent group × time interaction effects (determined via repeated-measure ANOVA tests).

*Significant (baseline vs. post) difference (p < .05) as determined via paired t test.

**Significant (baseline vs. post) difference (p < .01) as determined via paired t test.

Table 3.

Calculated internal consistencies for baseline and postintervention EFI subscale items.

	Group
EFI subscale	Walk	Meditate	Walk then meditate	Meditate then walk	Control
Positive engagement
Baseline	.71	.91	.81	.83	.78
Post	.78	.91	.83	.79	.82
Revitalization
Baseline	.79	.85	.81	.74	.82
Post	.93	.55	.75	.87	.76
Tranquility
Baseline	.90	.89	.90	.93	.82
Post	.95	.89	.91	.91	.86
Exhaustion
Baseline	.83	.87	.83	.62	.91
Post	.92	.93	.84	.71	.88

Note: The presented internal consistency values are calculated Cronbach’s alphas. EFI: Exercise Induced Feelings Inventory.

One-way ANOVAs comparing change (postintervention minus baseline) scores between the groups for each of the subscores revealed significant differences between the groups for all subscores. For positive engagement, the calculated p value associated with the one-way ANOVA was .004; Tukey post hoc contrast tests, however, revealed no pairs with significant differences. For tranquility, the calculated p-value was .05; Tukey post-hoc contrast tests revealed a significant difference between the walk and walk-then-meditate group (p = .05). For revitalization, the calculated p value was .05; Tukey post-hoc contrast tests revealed a significant difference between the meditate and control groups (p = .01), the walk-then-meditate and control groups (p = .001), and the meditate then walk and control groups (p < .001). For exhaustion, the calculated p value was .004; Tukey post-hoc contrast tests revealed a significant difference between the walk-then-meditate and control groups (p = .02).

Discussion

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of a single session of brisk walking, mindfulness meditation, and combinations of walking and meditation on affect. Our findings suggest that 10 minutes of walking, a 10-minute mindfulness meditation, as well as combinations of these two may positively influence aspects of affect. Specifically, walking alone resulted in less exhaustion and increased revitalization; meditation, as well as the combinations of walking and meditation, were found to significantly impact tranquility, exhaustion, and revitalization; none of the intervention arms significantly increased feelings of positive engagement.

There is some evidence among these findings to suggest that acute meditation may offer superior benefits to acute walking alone. This also aligns with previous work focusing on anxiety as the outcome of interest (Edwards, Rosenbaum & Loprinzi, 2017). To illustrate, meditation alone resulted in increased tranquility whereas walking alone did not. Contrast tests for tranquility indicated that the most significantly different pair of intervention arms were the walk and walk-then-meditate group. This suggests that a 10-minute walk may not be sufficient to increase tranquility, but when paired with meditation later, tranquility may be optimized. A significant contrast was not observed between the walk and meditate then walk groups, again suggesting that if the goal is to maximize tranquility, one should perhaps follow their walk with a meditation. Interestingly, when evaluating pairs of intervention arms for revitalization, both meditation only and the combination groups demonstrated enhanced revitalization in comparison with the control group. It seems intuitive that exercising alone may lead to superior feelings of revitalization compared with meditation alone, simply based on the increases in physiological arousal. Notably, however, when comparing meditation only with the two combinations, it appears that perhaps the combinations are more beneficial for revitalization. This is illustrated by a 38% (walk then meditate) and 42% (meditate then walk) increase in revitalization for the combination groups compared with a 28% increase in the meditation only group (percentages calculated by taking postintervention revitalization score minus preintervention revitalization score and dividing by the postintervention revitalization score). Although all groups (besides the control group) experienced significant decreases in exhaustion, the contrast tests suggest that the walk-then-meditate group was superior to the others (in comparison with the control group) in this reduction.

Two of our initial hypotheses were supported. First, all intervention arms elicited some positive affective changes. Second, it appeared that combinations of walking and meditation offered superior benefits to meditating only or walking only for select affective parameters. Our last hypothesis, that meditating prior to exercising would “prime” the exercise experience and facilitate more positive affect as a result, was not supported. It appeared that the walk-then-meditate group was superior to the meditate than walk group in eliciting tranquility and decreasing exhaustion. This coincides with our finding that meditation, but not exercising alone, resulted in a significant increase in tranquility. Although positive engagement scores, on average, did increase for all groups, these increases were not significant. This may be due to brisk walking not being a unique enough stimulus, in comparison with the daily ambulation that most college students accrue through navigating from class to class. One of the words that makes up the positive engagement subscale, “upbeat,” would not be expected to increase following a seated meditation intended to have relaxing/calming effects. Similarly, participants may have not rated higher levels of enthusiasm (another word making up the positive engagement subscale) following the meditation, simply due to being in a more relaxed/calm state.

A limitation of the study is that our sample was made up of young, highly active college-aged students, so our findings should be interpreted cautiously when considering other populations. Similarly, half of the participants in the current study reported that they were currently practicing some form of meditation, which may not be representative of the general population (Cramer et al., 2016). Another limitation of the current study is only including a single assessment of affect. The EFI assesses distinct affect; a thorough critique of this measurement tool can be found in the literature (Ekkekakis & Petruzzello, 2001). Measures of perceived dimensional affect (i.e., valence and arousal) (Posner, Russell, & Peterson, 2005) would have also been beneficial, and should be implemented in future work exploring this paradigm. In addition, we only employed a “manipulation check” in the mediation group. Future work employing a similar paradigm should also consider evaluating participant appraisal to control-group stimuli.

Future work should continue to investigate the potential utility of single bouts of exercise and meditation, as they may be more realistic to promote than multiple-week intervention trainings. It would be interesting to explore the potential “priming” effect of meditation further. Perhaps one reason why we did not see meditation leading to more positive affect when completed prior to the walk is because participants were not encouraged to preserve the mindfulness mindset or to incorporate aspects focused on during the meditation while completing their walk. Thus, future work may consider comparing a meditation then walk protocol (similar to MAP) (Alderman et al., 2016) both with and without provided instructions for participants to attempt to continue practicing their mindfulness during the walk. Similar to the Buddhist walking meditation protocol utilized in mindfulness-based stress reduction (Kabat-Zinn, 1982), it would be beneficial to evaluate the utility of a brief session of mindfulness-based walking alone, on psychological outcomes. Notably, a 12-week Buddhist walking meditation intervention has been shown to result in greater reductions in cortisol levels as well as superior vascular improvements in comparison with a control walking group (Gainey, Himathongkam, Tanaka, & Suksom, 2016). Further investigation of the psychological benefits of mindfulness-based walking (including a single session of this protocol) would have great applications to everyday life; people could be trained to be more mindful during their daily ambulatory activity. For example, students walking across campus could be taught to slow down their thoughts to enable observations of what they feel (physically and psychologically) as they walk from class to class, rather than (for example) checking email/text messages during this time. It seems plausible that increased present-moment awareness during walking (an activity most people do daily) could lend to other psychological benefits. For example, awareness of being able to walk quickly and efficiently could lead to feelings of gratitude for one’s physical health status. Perhaps, via the aforementioned mechanism (e.g., increased feelings of gratitude), or through a direct/intentional added component to promote gratitude, the positive engagement aspects of affect may be better targeted during this proposed walking-based mindfulness protocol.

The current study is strengthened by its novelty; no previous study (to our knowledge) has directly compared the four experimental groups evaluated presently within the context of affect. In addition, the protocols used within our study have broad application to a variety of populations. Walking is a widely available form of exercise (as previously mentioned) to able-bodied individuals and guided meditations have become more accessible on phone applications as well as the Internet. Although we mentioned our narrow study sample precluding widespread generalizability to other populations, we also feel this population adds strength to the present study. College-aged students are in a critical time of development during which they are forming lifestyle habits that may influence them far beyond their college years (Buckworth, 2001). To illustrate, it has been shown that college students who participate in health and physical activity classes have more positive postgraduation health attitudes and behaviors (Pearman et al., 1997). If we can find ways to maximize exercise enjoyment and positive affect, we may promote the formation of stronger intentions to exercise as well as continued exercise behavior that could last a lifetime.

In conclusion, a 10-minute meditation as well as a combination of a 10-minute meditation and a 10-minute brisk walk resulted in significant affective improvements. These findings would suggest that if (an already active) individual only has 10 minutes to engage in a behavior with the intention of improving their positive affect state, they should select meditation over walking. If they have 20 minutes, they could engage in both meditation and a brisk walk to yield similar affective benefits, plus the additional physiological benefits of ambulation. If performing both exercise and meditation, it may be more affectively beneficial to exercise first and meditate second as a form of a “cool-down.” Ultimately, future work is needed to confirm these findings and contribute additional research to the acute exercise/meditation comparison literature.

Footnotes

Article Notes

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