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Exercise More Fun When Friends Join You, New Research Shows

Hate To Exercise? Phone Study Suggests Possible Fix
LiveScience

BOSTON — If exercise isn't your idea of fun, maybe you should invite some friends: A new study suggests people enjoy physical activity more when they're with others, according to new research presented here on Tuesday (Nov. 5).

For the study, researchers asked 117 people ages 27 to 73 to carry small mobile phones with them for four days. Eight times a day, participants received a prompt on their phone that asked them what they were doing, who they were with, where they were, and if they were outdoors, how much "greenness" was in the area. They also rated how happy they were, and how much they were enjoying the activity they were doing.

About 84 people reported at least one bout of physical activity over the four days. [10 Fitness Apps: Which Is Best for Your Personality?]

Those doing physical activity were happier, and enjoyed the physical activity more, when they were with their spouse, friends or co-workers, compared with when they were alone, according to the findings. People also said they were happier when they were exercising outdoors in green areas.

If the findings are confirmed in future studies, researchers may be able to provide recommendations that encourage people not only to be active, but to participate with people and in places that help them to enjoy the activity more, said study researcher Genevieve Dunton, an assistant professor of research at the University of Southern California's Department of Preventive Medicine. Studies show that people are more likely to repeat activities that they enjoy or find rewarding, and sustain them over the long-term, Dunton said.

The findings suggest "they're probably more likely to maintain the activity if they're outdoors in green spaces with people, than if they're home alone," Dunton said.

However, the study does not prove that friends and green spaces were the cause of people's good mood during physical activity. It could be that people go certain places, and spend time with certain people, when they're already feeling happy, Dunton said.

The researchers also noted they did not ask people about the purpose of their activities. When participants said they were physically active, they could have been doing anything from housework to biking to work to walking in the park with family.

More research is needed to determine whether enjoyment of activity differs by purpose, said Dunton, who presented the findings here today at the meeting of the American Public Health Association.

Another study published last year found that people are in a better moodwhen they view the color green while exercising.

Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. FollowLiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Before You Go

Exercise Does A Brain Good
It Sharpens Thinking(01 of07)
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Earlier this year, Dartmouth researchers added support to mounting evidence about the way that exercise affects learning and mental acuity: it boosts the production of “brain derived neurotrophic factor" -- or BDNF – a protein that is thought to help with mental acuity, learning and memory. (credit:shutterstock)
It May Alleviate Childhood ADHD Symptoms(02 of07)
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In the same Dartmouth study, the researchers discovered that, thanks to the BDNF boost, exercise also helped to alleviate ADHD-like symptoms in juvenile rats. Since BDNF is involved in the brain's development and growth of new cells, the effect was more profound on the younger rats, with their still-developing brains and more rapid cell turnover, compared to adult rats. (credit:Alamy)
It Helps You Learn New Tricks(03 of07)
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Even one exercise session can help you retain physical skills by enhancing what's commonly known as "muscle memory" or "motor memory," according to new research published in PlosOne.As the New York Times reported, men who were taught to follow a complicated pattern on a computer and subsequently exercised were better able to remember the pattern in subsequent days than the men who didn't exercise after the initial squiggle test. (credit:AP)
It Supports Problem-Solving(04 of07)
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In one study, mice that exercised by running not only generated new neurons, but those neurons lit up when the mice performed unfamiliar tasks like navigating a new environment. (credit:Alamy)
It Helps Alleviate Symptoms Of Depression (05 of07)
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When you exercise, your pituitary gland releases endorphins to help mitigate the physical stress and pain you are experiencing. But those endorphins may play a more important and longer-lasting role: they could help alleviate symptoms of depression, according to a Mayo Clinic report. (credit:Alamy)
It Reduces Stress(06 of07)
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Although exercising raises our levels of cortisol -- the hormone that causes physical stress and is even associated with long-term memory impairment -- its overall effect is one of a stress reducer. That's because exercise increases the body's threshold for cortisol, making you more inured to stressors. (credit:Alamy)
It Helps Delay Age-Associated Memory Loss(07 of07)
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As we get older, an area of the brain called the hippocampus shrinks. That's why age is associated with memory loss across the board. However, profound memory loss -- such as in dementia and Alzheimer's disease patients -- is also contributed to by accelerated hippocampus shrinking. Luckily, the hippocampus is also an area of the brain that generate new neurons throughout a lifespan. And, the research shows, exercise promotes new neural growth in this area. (credit:Alamy)
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