A mental health paradox: Mental health was both a motivator and barrier to physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health, physical activity, and sedentary behavior of people worldwide. According to the Health Belief Model (HBM), health-related behavior is determined by perceived barriers and motivators. Using an online survey with 1669 respondents, we sought to understand why and how physical activity and sedentary behavior has changed by querying about perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity that changed because of the pandemic, and how those changes impacted mental health. The following results were statistically significant at p < .05. Consistent with prior reports, our respondents were less physically active (aerobic activity, -11%; strength-based activity, -30%) and more sedentary (+11%) during the pandemic as compared to 6-months before. The pandemic also increased psychological stress (+22%) and brought on moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Respondents’ whose mental health deteriorated the most were also the ones who were least active (depression r = -.21, anxiety r = -.12). The majority of respondents were unmotivated to exercise because they were too anxious (+8%,), lacked social support (+6%), or had limited access to equipment (+23%) or space (+41%). The respondents who were able to stay active reported feeling less motivated by physical health outcomes such as weight loss (-7%) or strength (-14%) and instead more motivated by mental health outcomes such as anxiety relief (+14%). Coupled with previous work demonstrating a direct relationship between mental health and physical activity, these results highlight the potential protective effect of physical activity on mental health and point to the need for psychological support to overcome perceived barriers so that people can continue to be physically active during stressful times like the pandemic.

Physical Activity among Adults Residing in 11 Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

“…Our results show more than 70% of participants reported using PA to cope with the COVID-19 lockdown. These findings, in line with WHO PA recommendations, highlight the importance of developing country-specific health communication and social marketing campaigns that promote the mental health benefits of PA [ 51 , 52 ] and utility of PA as a coping strategy to mitigate the psychological burden and negative emotions associated with the disease outbreak and lockdown measures [ 18 , 47 , 50 ].…”

Change in mental health, physical health, and social relationships during highly restrictive lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Australia

“…Another reason is that some individuals may have increased exercise (with more time on their hands) that cancels out those exercising less. Consistent with other recent studies ( Brand, Timme & Nosrat, 2020 ; Bu et al, 2021 ; Ebrahimi, Hoffart & Johnson, 2020 ; Galle et al, 2020 ; Marashi et al, 2020 ), we found a link between frequency of exercise with both physical and mental well-being suggesting that keeping physically active can potentially act as a buffer for stress during lock-down. Codella et al (2020) have also pointed out that being physically active has benefits for maintaining a healthy immune system, which is obviously very relevant during a pandemic.…”

“…In our study, 94% of participants reported ’talking with people about COVID-19’ at least a few times per week, and 45% reported multiple times per day. Additionally, the pandemic appears to be a largely negative experience for many people around the world ( Benke et al, 2020 ; Ebrahimi, Hoffart & Johnson, 2020 ; Fiorenzato et al, 2020 ; Gao et al, 2020 ; Hamadani et al, 2020 ; Holman et al, 2020 ; Huang & Zhao, 2020 ; Kalaitzaki, 2020 ; Lee, 2020 ; Marashi et al, 2020 ; Mazza et al, 2020 ; Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al, 2020 ; Pierce et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Roy et al, 2020 ; Twenge & Joiner, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Zacher & Rudolph, 2020 ), and we have reported a substantial proportion in our sample of Australians being negatively affected during lockdown. Numerous studies have indicated that shared experiences of pain, adversity, and/or hardship have the potential to act as social bonding experiences ( some examples : Bastian, Jetten & Ferris, 2014 ; Bastian et al, 2014 ; Bastian et al, 2018 ; Breslin, 2019 ; Shaw, Pollio & North, 2020 ).…”

“…Quarantine (lockdown) during prior pandemics such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) were reported to negatively affect psychological well-being ( Brooks et al, 2020 ). Research on people’s experience during COVID-19 lockdowns around the world have produced consistent findings of increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression ( Baloch et al, 2021 ; Benke et al, 2020 ; Bruno et al, 2021 ; Ebrahimi, Hoffart & Johnson, 2020 ; Fiorenzato et al, 2020 ; Gao et al, 2020 ; Hamadani et al, 2020 ; Holingue et al, 2020 ; Holman et al, 2020 ; Huang & Zhao, 2020 ; Kalaitzaki, 2020 ; Lee, 2020 ; Marashi et al, 2020 ; Mazza et al, 2020 ; Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al, 2020 ; Patrick et al, 2020 ; Pierce et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Roy et al, 2020 ; Sameer et al, 2020 ; Saraswathi et al, 2020 ; Twenge & Joiner, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Zacher & Rudolph, 2020 ).…”

“…Factors reported as being associated with higher levels of emotional distress during lockdown are being younger, female, having lower education, having pre-existing medical conditions, increased social media use, rumination on COVID-19 ( Baloch et al, 2021 ; Benke et al, 2020 ; Bruno et al, 2021 ; Bu et al, 2021 ; Ebrahimi, Hoffart & Johnson, 2020 ; Fiorenzato et al, 2020 ; Gao et al, 2020 ; Holman et al, 2020 ; Hsiang et al, 2020 ; Huang & Zhao, 2020 ; Kalaitzaki, 2020 ; Lee, 2020 ; Mazza et al, 2020 ; Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Roy et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ), whereas keeping physically and socially active have been reported as protective factors ( Brand, Timme & Nosrat, 2020 ; Bu et al, 2021 ; Ebrahimi, Hoffart & Johnson, 2020 ; Galle et al, 2020 ; Marashi et al, 2020 ).…”