Daily Physical Activity: Associations With Memory and Affect

Little is known about effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and resistance training on daily variations in memory and affect. This study examined the relationship of MVPA and resistance training to memory and affect in daily life.

Short-term longitudinal 7-day diary.

Northeast; primarily Boston-area communities.

Adults aged 25 to 94.

For seven days, MVPA was assessed with an Actigraph. and resistance training was self-reported. Each evening, memory failures, positive and negative affect were recorded in a written diary and objective memory performance was assessed by telephone.

Multilevel linear regression analyses examined the between and within person associations of MVPA and resistance training with memory performance, memory failures, and affect.

Those who engaged in more MVPA had better memory performance across the week (b = 0.0163, SE = 0.0076, f² = 0.004, p = 0.033). Participants reported higher levels of positive affect on days in which they spent more time in MVPA than usual (b = 0.003, SE = 0.001, f² = 0.144, p < .001) and on days they engaged in resistance training (b = 0.1547, SE = 0.079, f² = 0.007; p = 0.049).

Those who spent more time in MVPA had better memory performance, and on days with greater than usual MVPA time and resistance training, affect was more positive than on days with less activity. Implications for motivating physical exercise are considered.