Stress Reduction and Mood Enhancement in Four Exercise Modes: Swimming, Body Conditioning, Hatha Yoga, and Fencing

Abstract The influence of exercise mode and practice qualities on the stress reduction benefits of exercise was examined. College students in swimming, body conditioning, hatha yoga, fencing, exercise, and lecture-control classes completed the Profile of Mood States and the State Anxiety Inventory before and after class on three occasions. Swimmers had unusually positive initial moods and reported less tension and confusion after swimming only on the first day of testing. Participants in yoga, an anaerobic activity that satisfied three of the four mode requirements, were significantly less anxious, tense, depressed, angry, fatigued, and confused after class than before on all three occasions. Supporting the importance of the four mode characteristics, participants in the exercise control activity of fencing reported improvements only in vigor. A possible influence of practice conditions was observed when members of the body conditioning class reported significant increases in fatigue, but no other mood changes. Results of this study supported the possibility that exercise mode and practice requirements in the proposed taxonomy moderate the stress reduction benefits.