Key result
Self-determined running increases morning HRV vs prescribed intensity, driven by higher exercise self-efficacy.
Why the study?
It was unknown how exercise-related self-efficacy, motivation, and daily morning fatigue and vitality affect cardiac activity and vagally mediated heart rate variability in response to running.
Does self-determined running intensity improve daily morning heart rate variability compared to prescribed intensity in healthy young women?
RCT (n=18)
Open-label
block-wise randomization to self-determined vs prescribed intensity groups
No
Does self-determined running intensity improve daily morning heart rate variability compared to prescribed intensity in healthy young women?
Promoting autonomy in exercise intensity and fostering self-efficacy during physical activity interventions may enhance parasympathetic nervous system activity, reflected in improved morning vmHRV.
Self-determined running intensity may enhance morning vmHRV in young women; extends evidence on autonomy and self-efficacy in exercise.
Self-regulation, self-efficacy, and motivation are critical correlates for exercise maintenance and play a significant role in sustaining a physically active lifestyle. Vitality and fatigue, recognized as unipolar affective states, also impact these processes by influencing exercise-induced affective responses and action initiation. This ambulatory assessment study investigates how exercise-related self-efficacy and motivation, as well as daily morning fatigue and vitality, effect cardiac activity (heart period and vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV)) measured every morning in response to running. Over 8 weeks, 18 young healthy women new to running followed either a prescribed or self-determined intensity intervention. Results from multilevel analyses revealed that individuals with autonomy in choosing their running intensity exhibited increased vmHRV compared to the prescribed-intensity group. The effect vanished when predicting heart period, indicating a mediating role for parasympathetic nervous system activity concerning vmHRV. Higher self-efficacy was associated with elevated vmHRV with stable effects upon controlling for heart period. Direct effects of running, morning vitality, fatigue, or motivation on cardiac activity were not detected. The results of this study suggest that interventions promoting physical activity should enhance feelings of competence and allow self-determination to achieve activity goals. The promotion of autonomy in exercise intensity and fostering self-efficacy may support self-regulation, which could be reflected in improved morning vmHRV. These strategies have the potential to result in more effective and sustainable physical activity behaviors, thereby contributing to enhanced overall health outcomes.
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Buchner et al. (2026) conducted an RCT in Young healthy female novices (aged 19-29 years) initiating running exercise (n=18). Running intervention vs. Prescribed polarized training intensity (80% low-intensity, 20% high-intensity) was evaluated on Daily morning vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) measured by RMSSDlog (Group effect b = -0.39, p = 0.04; self-efficacy effect b = 0.56, p = 0.002, 95% CI Group effect 95% CI: -0.78 to 0.00; Self-efficacy 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.95, p=Group effect p = 0.037; Self-efficacy p = 0.002). Self-determined running intensity increased daily morning vagally mediated heart rate variability (RMSSDlog) by 0.39 units compared to prescribed intensity with medium effect size, and higher exercise-specific self-efficacy predicted higher vmHRV (b = 0.56, p = 0.002) in young healthy women over 8 weeks.
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