Fresno Sports Performance: Running and Mental Health.

Running and Mental Health.

???????????As fitness professionals there are many different groups of people that one will work with including, working with athletes, the elderly, middle aged clients, and youth.? The focus of this discussion will look into what single type of exercise would be suitable for enhancing the quality of life for (a) a healthy young adult (late 20?s- early 30?s)? and (b) and older healthy adult (60+). A fair amount of research suggests that cardiovascular training is beneficial for both demographics. ?A review study by Warburton, D. R., Nicol, C., & Bredin, S. D. (2006), states that regular physical activity is a factor in directly and indirectly preventing cardiovascular and several other chronic conditions, which can be a cause of premature death. The review also stated that physical activity can be a health preventative measure for people of all ages.
Physical fitness can be split into two different categories: performance related physical fitness (sports enhancement) and health related physical fitness (a physiologic state; which allows one to meet the stress of daily activity) (Warburton, D. R., Nicol, C., & Bredin, S. D. (2006). Each of these two can help enhance quality of life. This discussion will be looking at the benefits of aerobic training, also known as cardiovascular training, on enhancing the quality of life for both subjects discussed earlier. ?Although aerobic training is beneficial for both demographics, the fitness professional must understand that there is an appropriate exercise selection for each.
For young adults, the fitness professional has the opportunity to choose from a wide range of aerobic exercises to help improve quality of life. Stroth, S., Hille, K., Spitzer, M., & Reinhardt, R. (2009) study suggests that aerobic fitness is related to positive cognitive function and mood. This study conducted a 6 week aerobic running program that was 70-100% of aerobic threshold. The positive effects that were recorded were seen in a visuospatial memory test, their tests the memory of visual items. Improving ones visual memory is an important part of enhancing quality of life. ?Shiotani, H., Umegaki, Y., Tanaka, M., Kimura, M., & Ando, H. (2009) suggest that aerobic exercise has a positive effect on lowering heart rate and positive benefits on circadian rhythm. This is important because both of these indicators have also been seen to be predictors in coronary vascular disease. The subjects in this particular study performed 35 minutes of cycling 3 times per week for two months.
For the older adults we will be looking at an age range of (60+). ?Hatta, A., Nishihira, Y., & Higashiura, T. (2011) suggest that growing older comes with many physiological changes such as: weakness, poor quality of life and ability to function in a day-to-day fashion. Hatta, A., Nishihira, Y., & Higashiura, T. (2011) conducted a study where they focused on the effects of a single session of walking on psychophysiological stress in healthy adults. The intensity of the exercise was moderate, which in this case was 60-70% of maximal heart rate. Their study found that walking for elderly adults lowered ?Confusion?, which suggests that moderate aerobic exercise can influence brain function in a positive way.
As stated before, fitness professionals must show tact when choosing exercises for every client. Understanding that not all elderly have the ability to do moderate amounts of walking every day is important. Large amounts of the elderly have difficulty with mobility and other chronic diseases which limit the options for exercise. Broman, G., Quintana, M., Lindberg, T., Jansson, E., & Kaijser, L. (2006) suggest that deep water running is an alternative for those that have mobility limitations. The study had females of ages 69 +- 4 perform 3 interval sessions of 75% of maximal heart rate for an average of 24.2 minutes. . Broman, G., Quintana, M., Lindberg, T., Jansson, E., & Kaijser, L. (2006) suggests that high intensity deep water interval running with a vest helps maximal aerobic power and maximal ventilation in healthy elderly women.

Aerobic training has been shown to have positive effects on cognitive function and mood, as well as lowering heart rate and has positive benefits on circadian rhythm in healthy young adults. It has also been shown to have positive effects on psychophysiological stress and increases maximal aerobic power and maximal ventilation in healthy elderly women.



1.Broman, G., Quintana, M., Lindberg, T., Jansson, E., & Kaijser, L. (2006). High intensity deep water training can improve aerobic power in elderly women. European Journal Of Applied Physiology, 98(2), 117-123.

2.Hatta, A., Nishihira, Y., & Higashiura, T. (2011). Effects of a Single Session of Walking on Physiological and Psychological Stress in Elderly Adults: A Pilot Study. Advances In Exercise & Sports Physiology, 16(4), 109-115.

3. Stroth, S., Hille, K., Spitzer, M., & Reinhardt, R. (2009). Aerobic endurance exercise benefits memory and affect in young adults. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 19(2), 223-243.

4. ?Warburton, D. R., Nicol, C., & Bredin, S. D. (2006). Prescribing exercise as preventive therapy. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(7), 961-974. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1040750

5. Shiotani, H., Umegaki, Y., Tanaka, M., Kimura, M., & Ando, H. (2009). Effects of Aerobic Exercise on the Circadian Rhythm of Heart Rate and Blood Pressure. Chronobiology International: The Journal Of Biological & Medical Rhythm Research, 26(8), 1636-1646.

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