Type of Exercise and Physical Activity and Its Relation to
Cognitive Emotion Regulation
Thesis
by
Brenda Dobrovicsová
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Arts
in
Psychology
State University of New York
Empire State College
2016
Reader: Judy Gerardi, Ph.D.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to Judith Gerardi, Ph.D., for mentoring me. Without
her help this piece of work would have been impossible to happen. My further appreciation belongs
to professor Humberto Aguilera, Ph.D., who helped me throughout the statistical part of the research. His patience and willingness to guide me through this, not always easy process was fundamental to my thesis. Lastly, I want to thank to my parents, who fully supported me throughout my
studies.
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ 4
1.
2.
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 5
LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………..7
2.1 DEFINING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE ......................................................... 7
2.2. DEFINING EMOTION .............................................................................................................. 7
2.3. DEFINING EMOTIONAL REGULATION AND COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL
REGULATION .................................................................................................................................. 9
2.4 EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE........................................................................................ 11
2.5 RESEARCH ON EMOTION REGULATION ....................................................................... 12
2.6 RESEARCH ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES ............................................................. 14
2.7.
COMPARISON STUDIES BETWEEN EXERCISES WITH STRONGER AND
WEAKER COGNITIVE ASPECT ................................................................................................ 16
2.8 WHY RESOLVING THIS GAP IS IMPORTANT?..............................................................17
2.9 HYPOTHESIS…………………………………………………………………………………19
3.
METHOD ................................................................................................................................. 23
3.1 PARTICIPANTS ........................................................................................................................ 23
3.2 APPROACHING PARTICIPANTS ........................................................................................ 24
3.3 LANGUAGE............................................................................................................................... 25
3.4 CONDITIONS ............................................................................................................................ 26
3.5 MEASURES ............................................................................................................................... 27
4.
RESULTS ................................................................................................................................. 29
5.
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................... 37
6.
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….40
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 49
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ABSTRACT
The relationship between physical activity and psychological health has increasingly come under
the spotlight over recent years. What has not been discussed yet is whether the type of exercise
could influence our cognitive emotional regulation. Previous studies which are presented in literature review have shown several advantages of exercise which will be discussed. This paper outlines
the research evidence about emotions focusing on mood states, depression, anxiety, coping strategies and potential benefits of regular exercising. The hypotheses tested in this work were; rejection
of correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation controlled by the type of
activity and supporting a correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation
controlled by the type of activity. In findings, a strong, positive correlation was found between the
amount of physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation and was statistically significant, however, no correlation was found between two variables when comparing types of activity. Only the
alternative hypothesis was rejected.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Our number one priority in life should be the health of our mind and body. When we maintain ourselves in good shape, we automatically keep our minds sharper and happier. Physical activity and
exercise not only have an impact on cardiovascular and musculoskeletal functioning but also in
psychological well-being (Burgeon et. al., 2001). Even though physical movement is necessary in
our lives, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that more than 80 percent of
adults and adolescence do not meet the requirements for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities (Healthy People 2020, 2014). Nowadays there is a lack of physical activity among people in
general. It has rapidly changed due to the past decades; the technological era has allowed us to work
and function in daily life from the comfort of home, simply by using the Internet on our laptops or
smartphones. With the demands of daily life, people tend to think they have no time left for exercise
in their schedule, even though it is well known that physical activity decreases depressed mood and
enhances self-esteem. Why is it so hard to exercise? Some people get discouraged doing physical
activity once they start too hard and are out of breath, so they tend to postpone it. There is a growing body of evidence that people learn and think better when they walk or do some form of exercise. Nietzsche also had it right when he said, “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” (Friedrich Nietzsche Quotes).
Exercise is an important aspect of maintaining emotional health as well. When the sources of our
stress such as fear, anxiety, embarrassment or excitement is outside of our control, people try to reduce it by emotion-focused coping techniques. Emotion coping researchers primarily examine responses to general stress, whereas emotion regulation researchers examine strategies an individual
possesses to deal with specific positive and negative emotions. Considering the prevalence and the
salience of executive control in human behavior, it seems important to study factors that impair or
improve its functioning.
5
Cognitive aspect of exercising will be discussed as well because this study aims to find out whether
some type of exercises include more cognitive processing than others. We assume that exercises
that have a cognitive component such as yoga may have larger effects on cognitive emotional regulation than exercises like running, football or body weight exercises, which do not emphasize a
cognitive component. As cited in an article by Ross (2010) the evidence from studies using exercise
interventions suggested that yoga interventions appear to be equal or superior to other exercises in
nearly every outcome measured except those involving physical fitness.
This research is going to examine the importance of physical activity and its relation to cognitive
emotional regulation. We will pair three independent variables; 1) performance of physical activity
itself, 2) type of exercise, with an independent variable which is cognitive emotion regulation. This
research will further evaluate whether cognitive emotional regulation is influenced by the type of
exercise and its frequency in order to find out which independent variable is predicting cognitive
emotional regulation more.
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Defining Physical Activity and Exercise
An official description for physical activity according to the World Health Organization is “any
bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure” (2015). By further saying that regular, moderate and intense physical activity has significant health benefits. It can
reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression. According to the World Health Organization, adequate levels of physical activity will decrease the risk
of a hip or vertebral fracture and help control weight (WHO, 2015). Furthermore, the word ‘exercise’ has been used mutually with physical activity as both terms have a number of common elements. The two, physical activity and exercise involve any bodily movement and are correlated
with physical fitness as the intensity, duration and frequency of movement increases. “Exercise is a
physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive, and purposive in the sense that improvement
or maintenance of one or more components of physical fitness is objective” (Caspersen et. al., 1985.
p.128).
2.2. Defining Emotion
What is emotion? Emotion is a concept that is not easy to define. “One of the most significant
things ever said about emotion may be that everyone knows what it is until they are asked to define
it” (Kalat & Shiota, 2012, p.4). It is an exciting field since many questions are raised while reviewing this topic. There are few attempts to define emotions:
“An emotion is universal, functional reaction to an external stimulus event, temporally integrating physiological, cognitive, phenomenological and behavioral channels to facilitate a
7
fitness-enhancing, environment-shaping response to the current situation” (Keltner & Shiota, 2003)
Emotion is an inferred complex sequence of reactions to a stimulus [including] cognitive
evaluations, subjective changes, autonomic and neural arousal, impulses to action, and behavior designed to have an effect upon the stimulus that initiated the complex sequence.
(Plutchik, 1982, p. 551)
While, there has been substantial research linking physical activity to improved mood states there
has been very little research examining the connection between physical activity and emotional response. Mood and emotions are often referred to as synonyms and even though they are related,
mood and emotions are distinct constructs. Moods are more long-lasting and enduring; whereas
emotions are both rapidly produced and quickly dissolved in response to specific environmental and
internal demands (Ekman, 1992).
Several emotion-related processes are included as well. Sometimes it seems confusing to organize
this chaotic landscape of emotion. Therefore, Scherer (1984) made a distinction on types of emotion
referred to as an ‘umbrella term’ for various positive and negative emotions, which serves as a tool
for affect. It labels the affective states, which include emotions (e. g. anger, sadness), stress responses (circumstances which enable someone to cope with his/her emotions) and mood (e.g. depression and euphoria). This notion is often employed by psychologists those emotions which are
easily recognized. For clarification, ‘umbrella’ terms are used when referring to mental disorders
such as behavioral disorders, emotional disturbance or, mental illness. There is actually a wide
range of specific conditions belonging under ‘umbrella’ term, that differ from one another in their
characteristics and treatment just like anxiety disorders or obsessive compulsive disorder.
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2.3. Defining Emotional Regulation and Cognitive Emotional Regulation
Everyone in today’s society experiences a variety of emotions, some of them are good and some of
them are bad. Emotions vary from one individual to another, however there are certain common
causes and consequences. Emotional experiences are complex and can be measured on many levels
such as controllability, intensity, duration, valance, complexity and frequency (Barrett et al. 2007).
To some extent, we do have control over our emotional experience, either by avoiding the situations, people, or triggers that elicit distress, or by changing our view of the situation. This ability
has become known as emotion regulation and coping (Gross, 2002). When experiencing emotions,
it may feel tough to control. Once a strong, negative emotion is experienced, people tend to rely on
emotion regulation strategies to reduce the unwanted emotion over time. However, there are some
strategies which are essential to our lives. One is the so called “let it all out” strategy which refers
back to Freud’s idea of catharsis, as realizing emotions by expressing them. Emotion regulation
helps us to decrease or increase certain emotions using a good strategy and coping is always an attempt to decrease negative emotions in stressful situations (Kalat & Shiota, 2012). The ability of
emotion regulation is to reduce the negative emotions and decrease negative mood. (Guo, 2014).
Emotions could be influenced, manipulated and regulated with the help of appropriate practices.
There is a range of strategies used by people to supervise their own emotions. Moreover, the ability
to appropriately regulate emotions is vital for the well-being and survival because maladaptive emotion regulation is thought to underlie many mental disorders, including depression and anxiety
(Gross & Muñoz 1995).
One of the most successful coping strategies for unwanted emotions is physical exercise. This emotion coping strategy works under one condition - exercising must continue over a long period of
time and not a single workout. Why does physical activity and exercising have the power to enhance our emotion regulation? The answer is still not clear to researchers but there are several sug9
gestions of why it works. For example, people who are in a good physical condition have shown
less tension, which is part of the subjective feeling of stress, as a response to stressful events as
compared to people in a bad physical condition (Crews & Landers, 1987). One of the most frequent
reasons for anxiety is unused energy. Our body was made to move, and when people do not give
attention this fact and have lack of physical movement it naturally creates tension. This lack of
movement tension can be observed on animals as well. When dogs, for example, do not get their
daily walks they become anxious as a result of not working out their energy. That energy then, turns
into physical tension and later into metal tension. It is not a cause and effect statement but exercise
definitely reduces likelihood that inactivity related anxiety affect people. Exercise is also beneficial
for maintaining hormone balance and also for regulated immune system. A lot of evidence suggesting that physical exercise is beneficial to daily life. It tires the body in a way, that it contributes to
better sleep (Crews & Landers, 1987). There are still countless other reasons such as healthy body,
or improved self-confidence and self-esteem.
Cognitive emotion regulation refers to the conscious, cognitive way of handling the amount of emotionally arousing information. It can be considered as part of the broader concept of emotion regulation defined as “all the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and
modifying emotional reactions, especially their intensive and temporal features” (Gross, 1999;
Thompson, 1994, p. 27). Regulation of emotions by cognitions or thoughts is associated with human life in a large amount and helps people to keep control over their emotions during or after the
stressful events (e.g., Garnefski et al., 2001; Garnefski, van den Kommer et al., 2002). For example,
when experiencing a negative life event, we may be inclined to have thoughts of blaming ourselves
or we may, instead, blame others. Although the capability of advanced thinking and regulating emotions through cognitions is universal, large individual differences exist in the amount of cognitive
activity and in the content of the thoughts by which people regulate their emotions in response to a
stressful experience (Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & Spinhoven, P., 2001).
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2.4 Evolutionary Perspective
When looking at the evolutionary perspective of emotions, Charles Darwin noted that the
emotional expressions of many animals are similar to humans. He also proposed that emotional expressions are part of our evolutionary heritage (as cited in Weir, 2011). There is a clear indication in
the animal world why further examination of physical activity and its correlation to emotion regulation is important. By looking at the ‘umbrella term’ proposed by Gross, one of the emotion-related
processes is stress response, which happens when we are in circumstances with which we cannot
cope.
The topic of emotion and evolution typically brings to mind Darwin’s classic piece of work, Emotions in Man and Animals. A research article by Joseph E. LeDoux (2013), Evolution of Human
Emotion, refers to Darwin’s extended theory of natural selection beyond the evolution of physical
structures and into the field of mind and behavior by exploring how emotions might have evolved.
Moreover, specifically important to his argument was the fact, that certain emotions are expressed
similarly in people around the world. This suggested to him, that there must be a strong heritable
component to emotions in people. Particularly interesting was his observation that some emotions
are expressed not only among human being but also across species, especially closely related species, like great apes. Darwin assumed that that emotion circuits are conserved across mammalian
species, and that it should be possible to understand human emotions by exploring emotional mechanisms in the non-human mammalian brain (as cited in Evolution of Human Emotion, Joseph E.
LeDoux, 2013).
A study done by Lehmann and Herkenham (2011) refers to a negative effect of a stressor on emotional response, which may lead to depressive behavior. Researchers paired small submissive mice
with larger more aggressive mice which indicates how a negative stressor can have an effect on
mice and what can help the mice to cope with it. This touches the topic of animal needs, which are
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present in humans as well. The dominant mice intimidated the small mice through the partition,
which separated them. However, the partition was removed each day for a couple of minutes so the
dominant mice were able to harm the small submissive mice, which had to be restrained by people.
After few weeks of repeating this process, the smaller mice showed symptoms of anxiety and depression, by preferring to stay in the shadows and not exploring it’s surrounding anymore. Scientists also had an experimental group of mice that were exposed to a playful environment with running wheels and tubes to explore and a control group of mice confined to a bare cage with nothing
playful inside. These two different environments made a large difference later on. Small submissive
mice that lived in an enriched environment before did not show any sign of depressed-like behavior
after being exposed to bully mice (Lehmann & Herkenham, 2011). This example clearly shows the
case that mice, whose lives were enriched by physical activity, and were in better mental condition,
could resist the future stressors better.
2.5 Research on Emotion Regulation
Gross (2002) claims that emotions arise when something happens that is important to an individual.
At other times, our emotions may derive from long-term values associated with health, close relationships, or work-related problems. There are many different ways a person can regulate his or her
emotion. Could one emotion regulation strategy be more effective than another? There are different
ways to regulate emotions and every person has a unique combination of coping strategies. Gross
and colleagues has conducted several experimental and individual difference studies but sharpened
their focused on two specific forms of regulation. The first is cognitive reappraisal, which is a type
of cognitive change. The second is expressive suppression, which is a type of response modulation.
Both have a common goal, which is down-regulation of emotion. Suppression is a form of emotion
regulation that requires intense self-monitoring and self-corrective action throughout an emotional
event. Such monitoring of how one expresses his emotion requires a keen awareness of the body
actions and facial expressions and remembering it. Reappraisal, by contrast, is evoked early on in
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the emotion generative process (Gross, 2002). Therefore, this strategy typically does not require
continual self-regulatory effort during an emotional event. Based on the studies Gross et al. have
conducted concerning affective consequences, suppression seems to be decreasing both, negative
and positive emotion-expressive behavior. Therefore, masking the true emotion which is important
social signals that should naturally be available to social interaction. In addition, the ongoing requirement of monitoring one’s own facial expressions and vocal signals could distract the suppressing individual and make them less responsive to the emotional cues of their partner. This led the
researchers to predict that suppression should have negative social consequences in conversation.
On the other hand, when we look at reappraisal, it seems to decrease negative emotion experience
and expression while either having no impact or actually increasing positive emotion experience
and expression. Reappraisal also does not appear to be as cognitively taxing as suppression, at least
as indexed by memory performance. These findings led us to predict that reappraisal should have
positive social consequences relative to suppression. After conducting studies, partners of suppression participants showed greater increases in blood pressure than partners of participants who were
either reappraising or acting naturally, as predicted. For lowering blood pressure, exercising is often
suggested by doctors. It can help people to control it. However, it is important to start slow and
gradually incorporate it into daily routine. Regular physical activity makes human heart stronger
and therefore can pump more blood with less effort.
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2.6 Research on Physiological Processes
Recent studies have shown that exercise increases extracellular serotonin, which is responsible for
positive emotions, in various brain areas including the hippocampus and cortex. Two different
mechanisms may be involved in this effect. As reviewed by Jacobs and Fornal, motor activity increases the firing rates of serotonin neurons, and this results in increased release and synthesis of
serotonin (1999). In addition, there is an increase of the serotonin precursor tryptophan in the brain
that persists after exercising (Chaouloff et al., 1986). This chemical is a natural mood enhancer.
When levels of serotonin are increased, symptoms of depression and bad mood and emotions can be
decreased.
When people exercise, it increases activation of sympathetic nervous system (SNS). SNS is producing intense arousal, preparing the body for so called ‘fight or flight’ emergency actions (Kalat &
Shiota, 2012). In this state, chemicals are producing in the body by stress when an emergency occurs. Our blood pressure and heart rate are therefore increased but it also reduces blood flow. During this physical state our body produces cortisol, which is responsible for leading the sugar and fat
to our blood and we have increased ability to fight, or to run away. However, these changes caused
by stress are not helpful to our physical state if we sit in the office the whole day. It works against
nature when one cannot use cortisol as it is required and is suppose to be used during required daily
movement. For this reason, it may cause several health issues such as indigestion, headache and insomnia. According to Jasper Smith when someone is threatened, the nervous system is usually going into action and our natural response is sweating and fast heartbeat, but unfortunately some people who are more sensitive to anxiety respond to these sensations with fear which creates panic disorder (2011). Panic is nothing more than extremely emotional behavior. As Smith (2011) reports,
regular workouts might help people prone to anxiety become less likely to panic when they are regularly working out. His findings clearly show that people who frequently exercise and have high
14
anxiety sensitivity were less likely to panic than those who did not exercise regularly. Also, once
the body has engaged in physical activity after stress, it tends to relax. Neurotransmitters called endorphins are generally associated with strong improvement of mood and are involved in pleasure
and pain reduction (Boerre, 2003/2009). They act as analgesics; in other words, they diminish the
perception of pain. They also act as sedatives and they are manufactured in the brain, spinal cord,
and then to other parts of body as well. Endorphins are thus more active during physical exercise
(Thoren, Floras, Hoffman, & Seals, 1990). They are released by the pituitary gland in the brain during sustained, vigorous exercise. However, it reduces the pain associated with exercise, allowing us
to exercise longer, with higher intensities. Other endorphin effects include decreased stress, euphoric feelings often referred to as a post-exercise high, decreased appetite and improved immune system (Warren, 2015).
There is more research focused on why exercise should be used to prevent unwanted aspects of
one’s behavior. Norepinephrine is particularly interesting to researchers. As Rod K. Dishpan and
Mark Sothmann claim in the article for American Psychological Association, norepinephrine is
strongly associated with bringing our nervous systems into "high alert” and it is powerful in SNS
(2015). It also plays an important role when forming our memories as 50 percent of the brain’s material is produced in a brain area that connects most of the brain parts, which are involved in emotional and stress response called coeruleus. Norepinephrine plays the most important role in balancing the action of other neurotransmitters that are responsible for stress response (APA, 2015). Some
researchers claim that for increasing concentration of norepinephrine in our brain people most often
take antidepressants. Even though it’s possible to increase norepinephrine by physical movement,
people still tend to prefer medication.
Other mental and emotional benefits of exercise will be mentioned such as higher self-esteem,
sharper memory and thinking, more energy and stronger resilience. When physical activity becomes
15
a habit, it fosters our senses of self-worth and makes us feel strong. People then feel better about
their appearance therefore self-esteem is widely accepted as a key indicator of emotional stability
and adjustment to life demands. High self-esteem has been related to a range of positive qualities
such as life satisfaction, positive social adjustment, independence, adaptability, leadership, resilience to stress and high level of achievement at work or at the academic field (Lawrence et al.,
2016). On the other hand, low self-esteem is closely related to mental illness and absence of mental
well-being. It may have even worse consequences such as depression, trait anxiety, neurons and low
perceived personal control. Next, the same endorphins produced while exercising, that makes us
feel better also help us stimulate the growth of new brain cells and help prevent age related decline
(Lawrence et al., 2016). This way our memory will constantly be sharpening and we will be abler to
think clear even in difficult situations. When putting our mental state into fight-or-flight mode, in
other words increasing our heart rate several times a week, will produce more energy not only into
exercising itself but more get-up-and-go actions in day to day tasks. And finally, stronger resilience
to unwanted emotions. When faced with mental or emotional challenges in life, exercise can help to
cope in healthy way instead of helping ourselves with drugs, alcohol, or other behavior which
makes the mental state only worse. Regular exercise boosts the immune system and helps to maintain healthy mental state long term. In general, people tend to exercise regularly because it gives
them an enormous sense of well-being.
2.7 Comparison Studies Between Exercises with Stronger and Weaker Cognitive Aspect
Duraiswamy et al. compared the effects of 4 months of daily yoga, which we consider as exercise
with strong cognitive aspect, with other types of exercises referred to as ‘normal’ exercise, which
do not emphasize such strong cognitive aspect, in 61 schizophrenic patients receiving antipsychotic
treatment on symptoms of psychosis. Psychosis is a mental disorder where person’s thinking and
emotions are so impaired that the person experiencing them has lost contact with reality. This con16
dition results for example in anxiety, depressed mood, social withdrawal or hallucinations and delusions. The exercise intervention on psychosis involved walking, jogging, and seated and standing
exercises. Both the yoga and exercise groups showed significant lowering in psychotic symptom,
but the yoga group improved significantly better. Particularly, the yoga group scored significantly
better than the exercise group in social and occupational functioning and on psychological, environmental and social sub-scales of quality of life as measured on the World Health Organization
Quality of Life BREF.
Only one study compared yoga to ‘normal’ exercise in a sample of healthy people. This study was
done on 120 women in their menopausal, which comes with many psychological symptoms as well
such as emotional roller coaster. This study done by Chattha et al. (2008) compared the effects of an
8-week regimen of daily asana and pranayama with an intervention that mimicked the activities of
yoga by applying non- strenuous stretching and walking exercises. The yoga group scored significantly better in decreasing level of stress, than the exercise group. As research findings indicate,
both interventions were successful and made participants feel better. However, yoga seemed to do
better at reducing physical symptoms and perceptions of stress.
The differences in fitness outcomes found in the comparison studies of yoga and exercise might not
have been found if exercise were compared to the more vigorous forms of yoga. According to studies by Howlett, the differences that have been found between yoga and exercise interventions may
be a result of how the two differ in their effects upon the SNS (sympathetic nervous system) and
HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal) axis. Different levels of intensity of exercise have been
shown to affect the HPA axis response to acute stress differently. To clarify, HPA axis is a complex
set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three endocrine glands; the hypothalamic,
the pituitary and the adrenal gland. Low-intensity exercise repeatedly has been shown to lower cortisol levels, while intense exercise leads to proportional increases in cortisol (Howlett, 1984).
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Among other things, cortisol raises sugar in our bloodstream and prepares the organism for ‘fightor-flight’’ response that is anticipating. According to Howlett, the greater the exercise intensity, the
greater is the cortisol release. This possibly explains why yoga, involving slow and often nonstrenuous activities, positively affects the HPA axis response to stress. Exercise stimulates the SNS,
raising plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine (Peronnet, 1981). Yoga on the other hand, has been
shown to lower sympathetic stimulation, significantly lowering levels of plasma norepinephrine and
epinephrine.
According to previous studies, yoga appears to be equal or superior to exercise in relieving certain
symptoms such as schizophrenia, menopause or depression. Only one group of researchers has
compared the effectiveness of yoga and exercise in both, healthy and ill populations. Oken et al.
compared the effects of 6 months of yoga and stationary cycling (falls into exercise, ‘non-yoga’
category) on attention, alertness, mood, anxiety, fatigue, and quality of life in a sample of 69 adults
with multiple sclerosis. Both interventions produced significant improvements in fatigue compared
with wait-list controls. Interestingly, in this study, no significant improvements were noted in either
intervention in attention and alertness or quality of life.
In a research exclusively on healthy individuals, yoga has been shown to be as effective as or superior to exercise. A study done by Sinha et al., in a study involving a convenience sample of 51
healthy males found yoga to be superior to running plus flexibility training in improving measures
of antioxidant status. Serum reduced glutathione increased in yoga group and decreased in the exercise group. Similarly, glutathione reductase, an indicator of oxidative stress, increased significantly
only in the exercise group, while total antioxidant status increased significantly in the yoga group.
This study indicates that yoga may be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress, additional research
involving randomized clinical trials is warranted to provide stronger evidence.
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Last comparative study presented is done by West et al., (2004) where the researchers compared the
effects of a single class of yoga to African dance and a college lecture. Perception of stress was
measured by using perceived stress scale (PSS), and affect was measured using the positive and
negative Affect Schedule. In this research study, all types of physical movement; African dance,
vigorous form of exercise, and yoga produced significant improvements in perceived stress as
measured on PSS and in negative affect with no significant improvements noted in lecture group.
The dance intervention led to significant improvement in positive effect while yoga remained unchanged and the lecture group experienced significant worsening. Both yoga and dance group perceived their stress levels to be reduced and their negative moods to be enhanced; however, only the
yoga group significantly reduced in levels of salivary cortisol, which is an indicator of activation of
the HPA axis response to stress. Salivary cortisol, however, increased in the African dance group.
These findings tell us that yoga and exercise may both improve mood but affect HPA axis differently (West et al., 2004). It is difficult to set a clear difference between yoga and exercise with the current research.
2.8 Why Resolving This Gap Is Important?
Still many questions remain unclear about why the movements of our body and our muscles make
healthy peoples mental health even better. One theory highlights that serotonin, which is increased
while exercising, is responsible for it. Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that has been
found to be intimately involved in emotion and mood (Boerre, 2003/2009). Too little serotonin may
lead to problems with regulating emotions, which may be responsible for depression, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and suicide. People should be more active in daily routines, which increase
serotonin in our body for our physical and mental health. Conversely, negative moods are associated with negative outcomes. For example, the negative mood hostility is a risk factor for many dis19
orders. There are several ways of how to prevent mental disorders such as depression, so it is important to investigate this topic further. The constitution of the World Health Organization states
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity” (2006). This may sound exaggerated but positive mood within the normal
range is an important predictor of health and longevity. Treating mild clinical depression with exercise is better than antidepressants, because the risk–benefit ratio is poor for antidepressant use in
patients with mild depression. Exercise improves mood in wide ranges of the population, not only
in patients with depression or other mental disorders, but also in subclinical populations as well as
in patients. The most unchanging effect is seen when regular exercisers undertake aerobic exercises
at a level which people are familiar with. However, some skepticism remains about the antidepressant effect of exercise (Young, 2007. p.396).
A recent study by Yi-Chun (2014) found that physical activity does have an emotional benefit. Residents in Ma-Yuan village, Taiwan were collected to participate in a fitness intervention program.
These participants had many factors in common therefore researchers were able to do a causation
study. Residents from the same village but geographically segregated areas served as a control
group. Both groups of participants filled out a questionnaire at the beginning of the intervention,
and a questionnaire one week after the intervention was done. Examination of the before and after
survey data showed that after the intervention, participants in the intervention group, but not those
in the control group, experienced less negative emotional vulnerability (Yi-Chun, 2014). Future intervention promoting exercise or physical activity targeting indigenous people could stress the emotional benefits of exercising, as it may be more similar with native cultural values.
This literature review established a theoretical framework for our topic and subjects of studies. Both
independent and dependent variables had been defined and presented in previous research studies. It
is good to be aware that stress, anxiety, sadness, anger and fatigue, during or after unpleasant situa20
tion can be relieved with exercise. It can relax people when they are feeling anxious and energize
them when they need a boost. As studies above present, individuals who are physically active feel
better about themselves, are more motivated and generally much happier than those who are inactive. Exercise truly is a powerful antidepressant. Suggested theories claim that regular exercise
mainly helps people feel better and promotes emotional health by stimulating the production of important mood-regulating brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and noradrenaline. Increasing production of these chemicals has a positive effect on
your mood and may reduce or prevent symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. In addition, it is
good to remember that emotions do not force us to respond in certain ways, they only make it more
likely we will do so (Gross, 2002). As people experience these psychological benefits, it is likely
that they also will be motivated to continue exercises so that they continue to receive these benefits. How much exercise is needed to produce those effects? Only ten minutes of aerobic exercise
can have a positive effect, so even a brief walk at low intensity can improve mood and increase energy. For long-term benefits, people should exercise a little more; three times a week for 30 minutes
per session at a moderate intensity. When someone would follow such programs longer than ten
weeks, it would work best for reducing symptoms of depression, panic attacks or unwanted mood.
This compliance allows us to regulate our emotions. When we are afraid, we may run, but do not
always do so. When we are angry, we may strike, but do not always do so. And when amused, we
may laugh, but do not always do so. How we regulate our emotions matters: Our wellbeing and our
emotions are inseparably linked. To our knowledge, no study has been done yet on the relationship
between regular exercising and cognitive emotion regulation yet.
21
2.9 Hypothesis
The hypotheses tested in this work are following:
Ho: There is no correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation controlled
by the type of activity
H1: There is a correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation controlled by
the type of activity.
22
3. METHOD
“Anything that exists in amount can be measured.” - W. A. McCall (1939, p. 15)
How can we measure cognitive emotion regulation? Even though our emotions are not always easy to define or explain, they exist, therefore should be possible to measure. There are few
methods how to measure our emotions and one of them is self-report through questionnaires. Selfreports are classified as participants’ emotional feelings and may also self-report their cognitions,
behaviors and some other aspects of emotions (Kalat & Shiota, 2012).
3.1 Participants
The type of sampling used in study design was focusing on three main groups of participants. Most
of the people who do regular exercise were examined at a fitness center ‘Hit Fitness Flora’. Participants from the fitness center were asked to fill in the questionnaire right after the specific physical
activity. Some of them filled in and returned the questionnaire right away, others brought it back for
the next training a week later. After all the data were collected, they were divided into two groups participants whose exercising routine include yoga and participants whose exercising routine does
not include yoga. Most of the participants from non-yoga group were attending so called Spartan
Race Workout, which are circuit trainings with the own body weight, led by an instructor. Others
non-yoga group participants were runners, volleyball players, tennis players and weightlifters. Participants who did not do any type of exercise were people attending our university, University of
New York in Prague. Some student from university of New York in Prague also belonged to previous mentioned two active groups. The age range of our participants was between 18 and 40 years
with the large majority aged 22.
23
When starting the process of data collection, the groups of participants were enlisted, identified and
targeted to this research study. Before they were recruited, potential participants were provided with
information and their interest in proposed study was generated. When participants reached the two
main goals of recruitment, which were: 1. Being a sample that satisfactory represented the target
group and 2. To recruit sufficient participants who meet sample size and power requirement of the
study, they were approached to participate.
3.2 Approaching Participants
The processes of the data collection at the fitness center went smooth thanks to the agreement with
trainers, who were willing to collaborate in this research study. We agreed on a specific date, when
the paper forms of the questionnaires will be brought to the yoga training and to Spartan Race
Workout training. After the training was over, trainers informed the class attenders about the research study and after they were introduced to more details by researcher. People attending yoga
classes were difficult to reach. Most of yoga group participants were working people, who attended
classes during the lunch break at their job, so they had to leave right after the training, or some of
the other attenders were simply not willing to participate in the study. It took more trainings to attend for data collection and approaching people doing yoga to get same amount of sample as from
non-yoga group which was Spartan Race Workout training, where everyone was willing to collaborate. Willingness of Spartan Race Workout participants could be also due to the fact, that they were
not very time pressured as these classes are usually late afternoon and no other training classes take
place at that particular hall. Another possible reason of a good collaboration with the Spartan Race
Workout group was the trainer who helped to encourage the whole training group to participate in
this study, therefore people got more excited about participating and in addition, they were also
keen to hear about the results. People from University of New York in Prague were approached in24
dividually and everyone was willing to participate and showed interest to see not only their personal
results on the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Scale, but also the overall results once all the data will
be analyzed, especially those who were interested in sports.
When the targeted population showed interest in participating in this study research, they were
handed an informed consent. An informed consent is an agreement which states that participant is
more than 18 years old, he or she agrees with research conditions, and the time it will take to fill it
out. All the people concerned were competent to make decision and aware that it is voluntary,
therefore the informed consent was valid. After the participants signed it, and handed back before
receiving the actual questionnaire. Each participant was instructed about the procedure of filling in
the questionnaire. In case there was something unclear during the time of completing the questionnaire, they asked and their question was answered right away by the researcher.
3.3 Language
The language used in the process was pitched at a level that can be understood by the potential participants. Additionally, people from the fitness center were Czechs and Slovaks, therefore a translated version was made in order to prevent language barrier. They could choose from the English
and Slovak version of the questionnaire. Before using the translated version of the questionnaire, its
validity was tested in a small pilot study (n = 2). All the participants from fitness center chose Slovak version, which they fully understood. Students from university preferred to use English version.
25
3.4 Conditions
Independently administered questionnaire used for this study was short in length and was composed
mostly of closed structure questions for easy administration. Care was taken to ensure, that the
questionnaire was short with only five sides of A4 pages, contained 873 words. First part of our
questionnaire was Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, where the individuals were asked to
complete a self-explanatory, brief four item-item query of usual leisure-time exercise they have
done during the past 7 days. For CERQ questions were composed of Likert scale, which is a scaling
method measuring positive or negative response to the statement. When completing the questions,
participants indicated on a five-point scale - ‘(almost) never (1), ‘sometimes’ (2), ‘regularly; (3),
‘often’ (4), or (almost) always’ (5) to which extent they make use of certain cognitive coping strategies. It consisted of 36 items, which were proportionally divided over the nine sub-scales. However,
we decided not use each sub-scale but rather a total score of all nine cognitive coping strategies together. At the end of the questionnaire, demographic questions were inserted which helped to divide
people by age, gender and participants were given space to inform us about what sport they are dedicated to.
It was administered both, individually (at University of New York in Prague) and in groups (Hit
Fitness Flora) using a pen and paper version. Participants from the fitness center were given all the
tools (pen, informed consent and a questionnaire) administered the questionnaire while sitting on a
floor, however there was enough room to complete it undisturbed and private. Participants from
University of New York in Prague administered the questionnaire at the computer lab. Everyone
had good conditions in general: no distractions, no interfering noise, sufficient light.
In terms of ethics this research was done in accordance with all the ethical rules. The questionnaire
was consulted with professionals before given to the participants and they were informed that they
26
have a full right to stop answering at any point they wanted to. It was also anonymous and they
have been given contact information in order to consult me if they wanted to see the results of the
study.
3.5 Measures
Correlational analysis is being used to determine the relationship between the type of exercise and
cognitive emotional regulation. Specifically, we run Spearman’s correlation in order to define the
relationship between cognitive emotion regulation score and the score of amount of physical activity.
Another goal of this research is to find out whether yoga, which is considered as physical activity
with strong cognitive component, could have more significant effect on cognitive emotion regulation then other type of exercises. This analysis needs to be done by running partial correlation. Yoga, in this case, is an additional variable that we suspect might be influencing our two main variables of interest which is cognitive emotional regulation and physical activity in general. We are testing how relationship between the two main variables can be influenced, in some extend, by the third
variable. This can serve to artificially inflate the size of the correlation coefficient obtained.
Dependent variable in this study in the cognitive emotion regulation and independent variable is
physical activity which is further divided on exercise with more cognitive aspect, labeled as ‘Yoga’,
and all the other exercises with less cognitive aspect such as running or playing tennis labeled as
‘Non-Yoga’. The research is also analyzing how frequent are the physical activities performed.
First part of the questionnaire used in our research study is Godin Leisure-Time Physical Activity
questionnaire is used to estimate the physical activity level. It is often used to measure physical ac27
tivity in adults. The GLTPAQ assesses the number of 15 minute bouts over a week of strenuous,
moderate, and mild physical activity. Second part of the questionnaire is Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. It is a multidimensional questionnaire constructed in order to identify the cognitive emotion regulation strategies individuals are using after being exposed to negative events or
situations. The CERQ is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 36 items. The questionnaire has
been constructed both on a theoretical and empirical basis and measures nine different cognitive coping strategies. In addition, the questionnaire offers the opportunity to examine relationships
between the use of specific cognitive coping strategies, although only the total score will be used in
this study research. Garners and Kraaij (2007) reported that the CERQ had good factorial validity
and high reliabilities. The CERQ is therefore considered as a valuable and reliable tool in the study
of emotional problems and how to predict them.
First measure used in the questionnaire, GLTPAQ, was freely available on the internet. My second
measure, CERQ, was not freely available on the internet therefore needed to be requested and approved by its authors. The request of the CERQ was soon approved for university research purposes. Communication went smooth, only by exchanging emails.
28
4. RESULTS
The findings include the results of the application of the method, the assessment of the assumption
of a correlational analysis between the main variables, a partial correlational analysis between the
results of this statistical procedures, and the test of hypotheses.
The groups which indicated category were determined after the data was collected. Every single
questionnaire was labeled by a number, in order not to make a mistake, such as entering the same
data twice. There were no missing data in questionnaires. All the data were then inferred into SPSS
by simply typing information into each cell. Names of variables were specified which is essential
part, appropriate ‘Type’ of variable was selected and lowered the decimals to zero at it was not necessary as we were working with round numbers only. In order to provide more information about
the variable that we could not fit into the eight-character variable name, they were typed into ‘Label’ column. It was an important part of the process, on which all the results were dependent. Data
errors were carefully avoided as they contribute to inaccurate results. Furthermore, clear and simple
variable names and labels were chosen for good understanding of the audience. Fifty subjects voluntarily participated in this study. N = 50.
Table 1: Number of males and females participating
Males
Females
22
28
Participants were asked whether they regularly exercise or not. They were scored on the amount of
their physical activity within past 7 days. They reported how many times per week they practiced
strenuous, mediate and mild exercises for more than 15 minutes. The higher score obtained was 72
29
and the lowest was 0. Those participants who regularly exercise were later divided into two groups
– people who weekly practice yoga and people who regularly do other type of exercises.
Table 2: Weekly activity score divided on Active and Insufficiently Active based on Godin
Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire.
Active
Insufficiently Active
36
14
Table 3: Number of participants divided by type of exercise
No free time physical activity
12
Yoga
15
Non-Yoga
23
30
Graph 1: Age distribution histogram
We see that the age distribution follows normal curve with a large majority of the participants aged
22.
31
Table 4: Correlational Analysis between Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Score of Amount of
Physical Activity.
Correlations
cogniScore of Amount
tive_emotion_regu of Physical Activilation
ty
Spearman's rho
cogniCorrelation Coeffi1.000
.363**
tive_emotion_regu cient
lation
Sig. (2-tailed)
.
.010
N
50
50
**
Score of Amount Correlation Coeffi.363
1.000
of Physical Activi- cient
ty
Sig. (2-tailed)
.010
.
N
50
50
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
The Table 4 presents Spearman’s correlation, the sample size the calculation was based on and its significance value. This method was used to determine the relationship between 50 participants and their
cognitive emotion regulation score and the score of amount of physical activity. There was a strong,
positive correlation between amount of physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation which was
statistically significant (r = .363, n = 50, p = .010). Assumption of linearity was not violated based on a
scatterplot which summarizes the results (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Assumption of linearity between Score of amount of Physical Activity and Cognitive Emotion
Regulation
32
A partial correlational analysis was used to assess the relationship between physical activity (measured by Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire) and cognitive emotion regulation (measured
by Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire). It was suitable to answer research question because it allows us to control for additional variable which is the division of physical activity on Yoga and Non-yoga. When controlling the correlation by type of exercise it dropped and turned not
statistically significant (Table 5). Thus, it had a big effect on the correlation, so the type of exercise
is underlying the two variables. Therefore, we cannot reject the null hypothesis which states that
there is no correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation controlled by the
type of activity.
33
Table 5: Partial Correlation by Type of Exercise
Correlations
Control Variables
Type of Exercise
Score of Amount of Correlation
Physical Activity
Significance (2tailed)
df
cogniCorrelation
tive_emotion_regul Significance (2ation
tailed)
df
Score of
Amount of
cogniPhysical Activi- tive_emotion_re
ty
gulation
1.000
.115
.
.496
0
.115
.496
35
1.000
.
35
0
Next, a partial correlation was used to assess the relationship between physical activity and cognitive emotional regulation among active participants doing various exercises and active participants
whose exercise routine include yoga.
As Table 6 reports, no correlation was found between two variables when comparing only Yoga
Sample (r = .286, n = 15, p = .301), neither Non-yoga Sample (r = .032, n = 23, p = .884) in Table
7.
34
Table 6: Correlational Analysis for Yoga Sample
Correlationsa
cogniPearson Correlation
tive_emotion_regulati
Sig. (2-tailed)
on
N
Score of Amount of
Pearson Correlation
Physical Activity
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
a. Type of Exercise = Yoga
cogniScore of Amount
tive_emotion_regu of Physical Activilation
ty
1
.286
15
.286
.301
15
1
.301
15
15
Table 7: Correlational Analysis for Non-Yoga Sample
Correlationsa
cognitive_emotion_regulation
Score of Amount of
Physical Activity
Pearson Correlation
cognitive_emotion_regulati Score of Amount of
on
Physical Activity
1
.032
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Pearson Correlation
23
.032
.884
23
1
.884
23
23
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
a. Type of Exercise = Non-Yoga
35
Scatterplots are summarizing these results as well (Figure 2 and Figure 3).
Figure 2: Correlational analysis for Yoga Sample
Figure 3: Correlational Analysis for Non-Yoga Sample
36
5. DISCUSSION
The present study was designed to extend research on positive effects of physical activity in healthy
population, specifically regular physical activity and type of exercise and its relation to cognitive
emotion regulation. This study aims to find out whether some type of exercise include more cognitive processing than the other. We assumed that exercises that have cognitive component such as
yoga may have larger effect on cognitive emotional regulation than exercises like running, football
or body weight exercises which do not emphasize a cognitive component. There are several studies
presented above using exercise interventions suggested that yoga interventions appear to be equal or
superior to exercise in nearly every outcome measured except those involving physical fitness.
As in every social science research, first we gathered information relevant to the addressed problem
with evidence, done by fellow researchers. Recent studies about physical activity and emotions did
support our assumptions and rejected our null hypothesis. Previous findings about how regular
workouts help people prone anxiety, depression, panic were presented. Once our body engages in
physical activity after stressful experience it tends to relax. Norepinephrine, Endorphins, Serotonin
and Dopamine were found to be associated with strong improvement of mood, unfortunately we
could not possibly test the chemicals for several reasons such as insufficient funds or lack of
knowledge. Nevertheless, what we could do is to question people through questionnaires.
Looking back at our null and alternative hypotheses:
Ho: There is no correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation controlled
by the type of activity.
37
When looking at the literature review there are not many studies done claiming that the type of activity would make a significant difference not only on our emotions but on well-being in general.
First study found on type of activity which rejects null hypothesis was done on schizophrenic patients. This experimental study done by Duraiswamy et al. compared the effects of 4 months of daily yoga and with normal exercising on patients. In addition, patients were receiving antipsychotic
treatment, therefore it is not corresponding to mental processes of healthy population. Another
study found was on decreasing stress level controlled by specific type of yoga with an exercising
intervention of non-strenuous stretching and walking. According to researchers both interventions
were successful and made participants feel better but the yoga group scored significantly better in
decreasing level of stress. This research was done on healthy population which correspond to our
research, but only women were sampled. Moreover, recruited women were in their menopause
which comes with different hormonal processes and psychological symptoms. Type of activity
might play a role in this case, as state of mind during emotional roller coaster might require calming
and mindful exercising. In their case, yoga is lowering their sympathetic stimulation and relaxing
which helps keeping strong emotions under control. Also, their research design was very specific.
Focusing on one gender, similar age and same intervention program, same amount and same time
spent doing the activity. Research participants in our study did not go through intervention program
with same condition for people within one group. Many of them regularly exercised for several
years and most likely tried different types of exercises within life time, however they reported the
activity they did only within past 7 days. This experiment design is significantly different from the
ones presented in literature review. In our research, therefore, the null hypothesis was not rejected.
H1: There is a correlation between physical activity and cognitive emotion regulation controlled by
the type of activity.
We now reject this hypothesis, because no significant difference was found. The only significant
difference was found in between the amount of physical activity and cognitive emotional regula38
tion. Our findings are supported by experimental research study in Taiwan suggested by Yi-Chun
(2014). Participants were all residents of the same village and had many factors in common. This
causational study supports our research finding that participants in intervention group, but those in
control group experienced less negative emotional vulnerability. This is consistent with the last
comparative study presented by Oken et al. where both, African dance (considered as ‘non-yoga’
group) and yoga group had their stress level decreased. However, this study has its limitations as it
was based on a results from one-time intervention, therefore generalizability of the findings are limited.
Majority of participants who scored high on Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire scored
higher on Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire as well. However, when our independent
variable, physical activity, was divided into two groups - those whose exercising routine include
yoga referred to as ‘Yoga’ group and those whose exercising routine which is regular, intense, but
does not include yoga were referred to as ‘Non-Yoga’. We found that group of people, whose exercising routine include yoga appear to be equal or even superior to other types of exercises, as it is
presented in a Table 6, Table 7, Figure 2 and Figure 3. The cause of non-significant outcome could
be the fact, that our participants who do yoga were also doing other type of exercise. Therefore,
there is not a clear difference in their physical activity routine. As suggested by previous research,
the differences in fitness outcomes found in the comparison studies of yoga and exercise might not
have been found if exercise were compared to the more vigorous forms of yoga (Howlett, 1984).
Participants in this study, practicing yoga, are all residents of Prague and people in this city are vigorously moving in general, only on their way to/from work. Prague’s lifestyle, especially in the center is active for anyone who has full-time job or is a fulltime student and needs to visit university for
lectures. As recommended by Howlett, the differences that have been found between yoga and exercise interventions may be a result of how the two differ in their effects upon the SNS (sympathetic
nervous system) and HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal) axis. According to Howlett, the greater
39
the exercise intensity, the greater is the cortisol release. This possibly explains why the type of non
vigorous type of yoga, involving slow and often non-strenuous movements, positively affects the
HPA axis response to stress.
Correlational analysis was used to compare the score of amount of physical activity and cognitive
emotion regulation. Specifically, we run Spearman’s correlation in order to determine the relationship between 50 participants and their cognitive emotion regulation score and the score of amount
of physical activity. As proposed by findings, strong positive correlation was detected between ‘active people’, those who scored high on Godin Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, and
high scores on Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire and it was statistically significant.
This result was expected due to the literature review and it rejects our null hypothesis. People release endorphins during any type of physical activity and simply by observation we realize, that
people feel very well right after exercising. When it is performed regularly, we consider it might
have a longer effect.
When another goal of this research study which was to find correlation between cognitive emotion
regulation and type of activity, this analysis had to be done while controlling for additional variable
by running Partial Correlation. However, when controlling the correlation by type of exercise it
dropped and turned not statistically significant, thus it had a big effect on the correlation. Because
the analysis was statistically controlled for the physical activity variable, then the correlation between Yoga and Non-yoga group was likely to be reduced, resulting in a small correlation coefficient.
Why is it so, when previous research supports the benefits of yoga more, than any other type of exercise? Most of our participants who belonged to the yoga group were also regularly practicing other type of physical activity. We could argue, that if this study would use different sampling method,
40
such people who practice only yoga, without combining it with other type of physical activity versus people who for example run only, all of them having the same age, same occupation, we might
have gotten different results. This is a factor our study design did not account for.
Number of participants play a crucial role in every research. Overall, sample size of this research
was small. Naturally, definition of ‘small’ depends on the main study objectives. If over hundred
participants would be involved in this research, it is assumed that the findings would be more accurate. Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire which was used for this study is consisting of
36 items. In case of this research questionnaire, the larger the sample would be, the more reliable
results we would get. The problem with number of our participants is that it could produce false
significant results. On the other hand, small sample comes with some strengths as well. Study with
50 participants was quick to conduct, so the research question can be addressed in relatively short
amount of time. Also, it is better to test a new hypothesis on a small number of participants first.
Our hypothesis with significant results is now supported for conducting a bigger research.
Cultural difference between participants could be count as a limitation. People from various cultures were recruited, specifically those from University of New York in Prague. Cultural difference
is another factor which may influence cognitive emotion regulation strategies. How emotions are
regulated might differ across the cultures. Every culture has different norms of social behavior
therefore the research could get more effective if focusing only on one nationality. For example,
Americans generally put a lot of emphasis on their own success, while Chinese focus on discipline.
There is a potential problem with self-reports, that people can be wilfully or unintentionally dishonest. Even if participant is trying to be honest, they may lack the introspective ability to provide accurate answer. What might have happened during collecting data for this research, is that people
could report more physical activity as they usually do, in order to have better results and manage
41
how they appear. Also the response bias is something which plays negative role in self-reports,
when the participants wanted to respond in a certain way, regardless whether it is true or not. This is
something we can not have control over, unfortunately it affects both, validity and reliability.
The Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire comes with couple of limitations. If there would
be a cut point at 24 units, obtained with two intensities ‘Strenuous’ and ‘Moderate’ (excluding
‘Mild’) would be probably better than 20 units with all intensities as some of the items listen under
the ‘Mild exercise’ such as archery or fishing from river bank, are not associated with health benefits. The 24 units cut point could be more fitted to the basic public health recommendation for minimal weekly volume with strenuous and /or moderate physical activity. Another limitation is that
participants supposed to repost physical activity which is performed longer than 15 minutes. This
can be confusing as we do not have any other information about this dimension. Two different individuals reporting strenuous exercising twice per week could expend different amount of physical
effort as one is strenuously exercising for 90 minutes and other one for only 20 minutes.
What makes emotion a suitable subject to study? From time to time, our needs or expectations are
not met, or we experience events which can launch an emotional wave. Strong emotions then empower our brain and we cannot think clearly. Some individuals can regulate their emotions well, but
some can not. Dealing with emotions is important not just because of the expectations of society
and ethics, but also because of our health. To deal with our feelings means accepting them and
working through them. Repressing them is what many people do, but later they will find a way to
come out in a form of depression, panic or anxiety. We are often suppressing negative emotions and
hoping that they will leave us over time. We suppress them, because we feel ashamed or wrong of
the feelings we have. We think it is suitable to ignore those emotions and rather occupy our minds
with something else. This assumption is wrong. Humans are, by nature, social animals and thus
have a need to belong, to have desire to be likable, and therefore release only those emotions which
42
are acceptable and behave the way it is expected from society. Suppression of emotions signifies
the act of masking facial giveaways in order to hide a current emotional state. If expressing suppression, it might not successfully decrease the experience of negative emotions. Although when
hiding negative emotions, it will most likely create successful social relationships by preventing
conflict, and protect individuals from negative judgments by others. Is this right thing to do? Suppressing emotion is a frequently used cognitive emotion regulation strategy, even though common
sense should tell us that emotions become more intense, the longer they are suppressed.
43
6. CONCLUSION
As is the case with any new and vital area of science, the study of emotion regulation has generated
many questions. Such as the difference between emotion and emotion regulation, which is one of
the most discussed topics. A child loudly laughs on a public and we comfort her. We feel angry, and
try to hide it. It is very common that one set of psychological processes administrates the appearance of emotion and another set of psychological processes is trying to manage these emotions.
These two processes seem so linked, that a clear distinction between them is still not made. Part of
the problem could be that there are many different descriptions of the term ‘emotion’. We can say
that emotional response is always judged to be good or bad, so when our emotions are bad (such as
anger), it can lead to an another emotional response (being upset about anger), and this second emotional response may motivate us to change the first one – anger. In this case, it is hard to define
what should count as emotion and what as emotion regulation.
To summarize; studying factors which influence our emotions are valuable for psychology field.
People use many strategies to maintain emotional health and regular physical activity demonstrates
to be a large factor in this field. We see that the results obtained are to some extent consistent with
the existing literature about effects of exercising and cognitive emotion regulation. Moreover, our
outcomes support the fact, that regular physical activity is a valuable aspect of maintaining emotional health. Emotion coping researchers primarily examine responses to general stress, whereas
emotion regulation researchers examine strategies an individual possesses to deal with specific
positive and negative emotions. Even though exercise with larger cognitive component like yoga,
did not show larger effect on cognitive regulation than other types of exercises. Our hypothesis was
therefore rejected. The only significant difference was found in-between the amount of physical activity and cognitive emotional regulation.
44
Was the higher score of cognitive emotional relation strategies really due to exercising? It may also
be assumed, that potentially cognitive coping strategies can be influenced, changed, learned or unlearned. Coping strategies would be referred to stable styles of dealing with negative events, however not such an extends that could be compared to personality traits. It is expected, that in certain
situations people may use specific coping strategies, which may be different from the strategies they
would use in different situations. As significant results were found in this study, larger confirmatory
study is needed.
With more body and mind research we could soon figure out that psychology is the key concept in
healthy living. Our psychological health is based upon how effective impulses are regulated. We
need to develop deeper understanding of this matter, instead of thinking we understand because we
read about it. By conducting researches on body-mind relationship we are getting closer to answer
these phenomena everyday. As this research study proposes, physical activity could be a suitable
component in regulating emotion. Regular exercising has a long term benefits to our health, unlike
medication. By practicing exercises, individuals may achieve physical fitness which is a set of attributes with positive impact on our lives. It plays a big role in everyday life as it increases ability to
accomplish daily tasks with alertness, vigor and decreases fatigue. Moreover, physical activity is
often a great gateway to stress relieve.
Even though the statistics indicate that large proportion of population lack physical activity, when
we look around us there are many interventions happening in fitness culture and gyms are also centers for social lives, like it has never been before. Quantity of fitness centers have increased as people are more and more willing to exercise. Gym membership cards have become a way how companies compensate their employees. There are many racing events, not only for professional athletes
but also for regular people. Trainings such as ‘Spartan Race workouts’, whose members were re45
cruited into this study. These trainings, just like many others with similar concept, are constructed
to physically prepare people for different races and sports events which are organized for wide population. For a beginner, it takes several months of intense training to attend increasingly popular
obstacle race like Spartan Race series. It is not easy, as people should undergo trainings for endurance, cardiovascular trainings like long distance running, sprint and running up to hill and total
body workouts for strength. It is meant to measure individuals mental and physical strength, endurance and determination. Why are people willing to undergo something so difficult? Once the finish
line is crossed, the feeling of personal accomplishment is priceless. It has more psychological components than it appears at the first sight. Important motivations for obstacle course racers include
good relationships among participants, connecting and socializing with other like-minded people,
having fun, and having a physical challenge that allows them to progress and keep on track with
their health goals. There is a positive emotion exchange involved when we see that other people are
enjoying it, we get even more enjoyment ourselves. After all, these events positively influence participants’ health, mental wellness and increase their confidence in their physical abilities as well as
in other areas of their lives.
People are still spending long hours being online. The common sense about always being online is
weight gain, but the past couple of years there is a rise of online world motivating into exercising.
Social media can actually motivate people to get fit and effect peoples exercising habits. There is
enormous number of mobile apps for smartphones to either track workouts and measure the calorie
outtake, kilometers run or also apps as a guideline how to practice different types of workouts.
Emotions are critical to marketing, even more than previously thought. They are so primal that we
pay attention to them and get motivated about what we see on a picture. Social media is the most
powerful tool about future regular physical activity interventions. Social environment may become
more influential to our lives than our own decisions. Simply by knowing that our peers or even role
models are exercising or doing yoga it motivates other people to do the same thing. It is beneficial
46
to advertise such ideas which positively influences our physical and mental health. This approach
could be applied to many psychological areas. Widespread exercising, gym-going, races and marathons attending is becoming a boom and regular exercising incorporated into peoples’ lives is set to
be popular for decades to come.
It todays world, it is still not very common to use physical movement as a part of psychological improvement model. Review of literature in this research study and our results show the fact that body
movement has a positive and significant effects on peoples’ everyday life. Exercise is not often
used as part of psychotherapy treatment, and we would like to provide few examples on why it
should be used more frequently. Some psychologists even recommend exercising for their psychotherapy clients and not only that, some of the therapist do sessions while walking. By incorporating
exercise into counselling and psychotherapy, the sessions could have very positive outcomes, not
only physically but mentally as well. People generally do not realize or think of this fact, therefore
resolving this knowledge gab is very important. There are still many people ignoring this fact because even though it makes us feel great, it is hard to get started. A growing evidence of importance
of physical activity and it is becoming impossible to ignore, such as decreased depression, anxiety,
decreased stress, increased self esteem, mental clarity, creativity or cognitive emotion regulation.
We think exercise should be used more frequently as a part of psychotherapy. People who regularly
engage in physical exercise talk about ‘feeling good’ effect, which comes after the exercising. Once
people feel good, they are more capable of rational actions therefore to use right emotion during
particular situations. If we would consider making an exercise prescription for clients or patients,
there are certain factors which should be considered. The exercise program should be the right fit
for the right participant. Starting from what is comfortable for a client so they will not build a negative attitude towards physical movement, which is usually the case when someone is starting with
too high intensity. The intention is not to develop discouragement. A realistic, feasible plan could
be created so that the client can easily accomplish. Part of the exercise plan should be paying atten47
tion to clients’ mood and changes in his behavior. Once getting an appropriate exercise prescription,
increase of self-esteem could be directly related. Nevertheless, the biggest drawback of the entire
research about this phenomenon is the fact, that there is still no willingness from individuals’ side to
regularly participate in physical activities. More awareness, research and application not only into
therapies but also everyday life is needed.
48
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