Impact of Physical Exercise on Psychological Well-being and Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Physical exercise represents not only the basis of any kind of sport, but a fundamental aspect of human health as, besides promoting metabolic activity and cardiovascular functions, is an essential element contributing to the overall sense of well-being (Oja & Titze, 2011). Not surprisingly, a sedentary lifestyle is considered one of the most important factors of morbidity and mortality worldwide (Alves et al., 2016; Barengo et al., 2004; Bonaiuti et al., 2002; de Bruijn et al., 2013; Hirose, Hamajima, Takezaki, Miura, & Tajima, 2003; Hu et al., 2004; Huai et al., 2013; Kokkinos, Sheriff, & Kheirbek, 2011; Moore, Gierach, Schatzkin, & Matthewset, 2010; Qiu et al., 2017). High-intensity physical activity, compared to low-intensity exercise, leads to further benefits in terms of body composition and reduction of abdominal fat (Irving et al., 2008; Lee, Park, Kim, Choi, & Kim, 2012). The results of the diabetes prevention program, developed within a randomised multi-centre controlled trial with more than 3,000 participants, showed that diet and physical activity reduced the incidence of diabetes by 58%, while metformin by 31% (Knowler et al., 2002). Moreover, results related to cardiovascular disease prevention are similarly impressive and benefits have been reported amongst people who had already experienced the disease (Anderson et al., 2016; La Rovere, Bersano, Gnemmi, Specchia, & Schwartz et al., 2002). Furthermore, the implementation of recreational group sports has been considered as an additional strategy in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, while improving different cardiac and metabolic parameters (Donnelly et al., 2013; Oda et al., 2014). Physical activity guidelines, (PAG), recommend the appropriate amount of exercise to achieve a status of physical wellness, stating the frequency, duration and intensity of exercise. Adults should practise more than 150 minutes to 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes to 150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or a combination of both (Piercy et al., 2018). It has been also demonstrated that regular exercise enhances not only physical, but also psychological well-being and quality of life (Poirel, 2017; Ussher, Owen, Cook, & Whincup 2007). A positive impact of physical exercise has been described on cognitive functions (Archer, Josefsson, & Lindwall, 2014), workplace performance (Drannan, 2016), creative thinking (Blanchette, Ramocki, O’del, & Caseyet al., 2005) and sexual well-being (Martinez, Ferreira, Castro, & Gomide, 2014). Aerobic exercise induces short and long-term effects on mood and emotional states by promoting positive effects, inhibiting negative effects and decreasing the biological response to acute psychological stress.
Several studies suggest that physical activity might also be of help in a wide range of neuropsychiatric conditions, such as anxiety disorders (Aylett, Small, & Bower, 2018), depression (Rethorst, Wipfli, & Landers, 2009; Schuch et al., 2019), eating disorders (Cook et al., 2016), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (Abrantes et al., 2019), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Rosenbaum et al., 2015; Zschucke, Gaudlitz, & Ströhle, 2013), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Cerrillo-Urbina et al., 2015; Chang, Labban, Gapin, & Etnier, 2012), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (Ferreira et al., 2019; Toscano, Carvalho, & Ferreira, 2018), schizophrenia (Pajonk et al., 2010; Tréhout & Dollfus, 2018) and some neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s (AD) (Du et al., 2018; Ebrahimi et al., 2020) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) (Feng et al., 2020).