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Research Article

Positive Affective Changes Following a 10-Minute Outdoor Walk

Van Landuyt, L.M., Ekkekakis, P., Hall, E.E., & Petruzzello, S.J., University of Illinois

Researchers have proposed that exercise must exceed a relatively high threshold of intensity (>60% VO₂ max) and duration (> 20-min) to produce positive affective changes, despite equivocal findings. The present investigations examined the effects of 10-minute walks, at a self-selected pace, in ecologically valid conditions on affect using multiple self-report measures. In study 1, 52 undergraduate volunteers were randomly assigned to either a walking group (n = 26) or a reading control group. Before and after each condition, the participants completed a battery of questionnaires including the Feeling Scale, the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI), the Activation Deactivation Adjective Checklist (AD-ACL), and the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule. Analysis indicated that, under these conditions, a short walk, in contrast to the control condition, was associated with more positive affective valence and increased activation. These findings were essentially replicated in Study 2 where 135 volunteers (76 exercise, 59 control) underwent the same treatments, and completed the AD-ACL and the SAI before, immediately after, and 10-min after treatment. The effects of the walk dissipated by the 10th minute post-walk. In conclusion, a brief outdoor walk was found to be effective in improving overall affect, specifically leading to a more activated pleasant affective state. Thus, the notion of a minimal threshold of exercise intensity/duration for affective change needs to be reconsidered.