Associations Between Change Over Time in Pandemic-Related Stress and Change in Physical Activity

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Physical activity (PA) is known to mitigate psychological distress.
• The impact of PA on stress during later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic remains understudied.
• This research investigates the long-term effects of PA on stress during the pandemic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between changes in COVID-related stress and physical activity.
• To understand how stress trajectories evolved between March and July 2020.
• To identify patterns of physical activity associated with stress reduction.

Main Methods:

• Latent growth modeling was employed to analyze stress trajectories.
• An international sample of 679 participants was surveyed.
• Self-reported changes in physical activity were correlated with stress changes over time.

Main Results:

• Participants reported a general reduction in pandemic-related stress from April to July 2020.
• Stress reduction decelerated over time, indicated by significant linear and quadratic changes.
• Individuals who maintained or increased their PA showed greater stress reduction compared to those who became less active.

Conclusions:

• Maintaining or increasing physical activity is linked to greater stress reduction during the pandemic.
• Findings support the role of PA in managing psychological distress.
• While causality cannot be definitively established, the results align with existing research on PA and stress reduction.