MOOD ALTERATIONS IN OLDER ADULTS FOLLOWING ACUTE EXERCISE

Limited research indicates positive affective change following acute b outs of exercise, but whether this improved affect among younger subje cts may be generalized to older individuals is not known. The present study, then, examined the effects of a single bout of physical activit y among older participants. 16 trained women (M(age) = 64.5 +/- 7.6 yr .) completed an abbreviated Profile of Mood States prior to and immedi ately following a 75-min. session of aerobic line dancing. A series of one-way analyses of variance with repeated measures were used to exam ine differences between pre- and posttest subscores on mood states. Si gnificant decreases following exercise in scores on Tension, Depressio n, Fatigue, and Anger and a significant increase in scores on Vigor re lative to preexercise (control) scores were found. Global mood was sig nificantly improved after the exercise session. No significant differe nce was found between pre- and postexercise measures of Confusion. Pre vious findings of significant improvements in affect immediately after an acute bout of exercise may be generalized to older adults. Repetit ion with a nonexercised control group is desirable.