Daily Well-Being Benefits of Physical Activity in Older Adults: Does Time or Type Matter?

There is little debate that maintaining some level of physical activity in later life conveys positive benefits both physically and psychologically. What is less understood is the extent to which the type of activity or the length of time spent doing it matters when it comes to these benefits on the daily level. Here, we investigated (a) whether the presence of daily purposeful exercise (Exercise) or non-exercise physical activity (Activity) is sufficient for experiencing day-level benefits, or if time spent matters, and (b) whether there are differential well-being benefits of Exercise and Activity on the daily level.

Older adults (N = 127; aged 60-95, Mage = 79.4) filled out surveys for 14 days, reporting daily Exercise and Activity behaviors as well as Positive and Negative Affect (PA/NA), Perceived Stress (PS), Perceived Health (PH), and Sleep Quality (SQ).

Multilevel regression models showed that for purposeful exercise, more time spent was beneficial for PA, NA, and PH, but for PS, only the presence of exercise was important (time did not matter). For non-exercise activity, time did not have as great an influence as presence-doing any form of activity was beneficial for both PA and SQ. Exercise and Activity had largely independent (additive) effects.

Results reveal that both purposeful exercise and non-exercise activity convey independent daily well-being benefits, and that for some aspects of daily well-being, duration does matter. Findings can be applied in the development of physical activity education or engagement programs for older adults.