If You Need an Excuse to Go for a Walk, Science Just Provided One
Want to improve your mood? This study recommends you get walking, even for a short time, and even if your surroundings aren't picturesque.
25 October, 2016
There is no scientific backing for dressing the same as your dog, but we imagine it can only help. (Photo FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
<p dir="ltr"><span>If you have ever wanted a pick-me-up and an excuse to move a little, you finally have it. A new study from Iowa State University has found that </span><a href="http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/two-minutes-of-walking-every-hour-off-sets-some-health-hazards-from-sitting" target="_blank"><span>simply walking</span></a><span> for a short period of time can improve mood substantially. This effect remained even when attempts to make the walk less pleasant were instituted. </span>Jeffrey Conrath Miller and <a href="http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/index.php?id=167" target="_blank">Zlatan Krizan</a>, professors in psychology, published their <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27100368" target="_blank">study</a> in <strong><em>Emotion</em></strong> and suggest that walking by itself, rather than setting, pace, or other external factors, is the key element in the resulting mood enhancement. </p> <div dir="ltr"></div> <p dir="ltr"><span>The study involved 232 undergraduate students who were first asked to either sit or walk around during a viewing of a familiar and unfamiliar environment. During the second phase of the study the participants were asked to tour a “drab” setting, again while either sitting or walking. In the final section, they simply walked on a treadmill in a small controlled room. Mood was measured by means of the </span><strong>PANAS</strong><span> (</span><span>P</span><span>ositive </span><span>A</span><span>nd </span><span>N</span><span>egative </span><span>A</span><span>ffect </span><span>S</span><span>chedule) test at various points before and after the activities were completed. </span><span><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span>The results were clear: merely walking dramatically improved the moods of the students involved, especially when compared to the students who did a similar activity while seated. The effect remained even when the environment changed to the duller possibilities.</span></p> <p dir="ltr"><span>In the second part of the study, the researchers decided to add another element to see how strong the effect was: they tested whether the mood boost measured before could withstand the knowledge of something unpleasant while walking. Being that the test subjects were students who were participating as part of a research-participation course requirement; the dread-causing idea was:</span></p> <div dir="ltr"></div> <p dir="ltr"><span><strong>“After the tour you will have 10 minutes to write an essay that is 2 full pages in length about the structural elements of the building”</strong>. </span></p> <div dir="ltr"></div> <p dir="ltr"><span>Even this terrifying idea, which was intended to sour their opinion of the walk they were taking, was unable to reduce the positive gains of walking by much, despite the expressed expectation by the subjects that they would feel worse. The students found out after their mood was measured that they also didn’t have to write the essay. This elation was not recorded. </span></p> <div dir="ltr"></div> <p dir="ltr"><span>The authors did, however, have to conceal the purpose of the actions from the subjects during the experiment to avoid corrupted data. Because of this they cannot say </span><span>for certain</span><span> that it was the walking that caused the improved mood, but they can rule out several other possible factors.</span></p> <p dir="ltr"><span>The idea that movement improves mood goes back to long ago. Charles Darwin himself supposed that: </span><span><strong>“Now with animals of all kinds, the acquirement of almost all their pleasures, with the exception of those of warmth and rest, are associated with active movements</strong>.</span><span>” This study seems to support this. </span><span><a href="https://bigthink.rebelmouse.com/ideafeed/walking-groups-help-improve-health-wellness" target="_blank">So if you want to feel better, get moving.</a></span></p> <p>And if you need another reason to stretch your legs:<br><br></p> <div class="video-full-card-placeholder" data-slug="wendy-suzuki-on-can-exercise-enhance-creativity" style="border: 1px solid #ccc;">
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To What Extent Does Comfort Food Ease Anxiety?
Bad days, break-ups, or stress-filled meetings may have you craving some comfort food to ease your anxiety. But don't reach for that chocolate bar just yet.
10 November, 2014
Comfort on a bun? Perhaps not. (Image: Shutterstock)
Bad days, break-ups, or stress-filled meetings may have you craving something to ease your anxiety. The usual remedy? Comfort food. But David DiSalvo of Forbes has found evidence that may give you pause before reaching for that chocolate bar or Quiznos toasted sub.
<p>You may think your cheesy or chocolatey treat is a home-remedy for the blues, but the after-effect you're experiencing is just a placebo effect, according to a recent study published in the journal <em>Health Psychology </em><span style="font-style: normal;">called “The Myth of Comfort Food</span>.”</p> <p>The research group sought to find out if comfort foods really help provide some kind of emotional boost. In the study, researchers asked the participants what their favorite comfort foods were. After a week had passed, the volunteers watched a 20-minute film designed to inflict feelings of sadness. Afterward, participants received either their favorite comfort food, no food, or non-comfort food. </p> <p>One thing became immediately clear: The participants felt better after they ate the comfort food and non-comfort food—even when they didn't eat anything. The healing ingredient wasn't consuming food—it was time. Co-author Heather Scherschel Wagner, a doctorate candidate at the University of Minnesota, explained:</p> <blockquote>
<p>“Whether it’s your comfort food, or it’s a granola bar, or if you eat nothing at all, you will eventually feel better. Basically, comfort food can’t speed up that healing process.”</p>
</blockquote> <p>The study concludes that our society has the group mentality that comfort food has some kind of healing effect that make us happier in tough times:</p> <blockquote>
<p>“Individuals may be giving comfort food 'credit' for mood effects that would have occurred even in the absence of the comfort food.”</p>
</blockquote> <p>The process of munching on your favorite snack may distract you from your woes, momentarily, but relieving your anxiety may require you to re-frame comfort foods into comfort actions. In a recent <a href="http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/reducing-stress-in-the-moment-requires-physical-and-mental-awareness" target="_blank">IdeaFeed post</a>, we <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-handle-stress-in-the-moment/" target="_blank">wrote about a study</a> that revealed productive ways to tackle a day gone bad. The remedies ranged from taking a walk to calm your mind to putting yourself in a different mindset and rethinking a stressful moment as an "[opportunity] for growth or advancement". These may be more productive remedies than a fatty placebo.</p> <p>Read more at <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2014/11/09/forget-what-you-thought-you-knew-about-comfort-food-and-mood/" target="_blank">Forbes</a></p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="407" src="http://giphy.com/embed/vc2401qFeGwRW" width="480"></p> <p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/food-baby-crying-vc2401qFeGwRW">via GIPHY</a></p></iframe></p>
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