Physical activity and mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic

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“‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ translates to English to mean ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’.  This Latin phrase personifies the perspective of researchers over decades about the benefits of physical activity on mental health particularly with reduction of anxiety, depression, and increased quality of life.¹

However, due to the global spread of COVID-19, this domain has increased context when understanding anxiety and stress levels from enduring an unknown number of months in lockdown.  Being restricted in our houses, with constant worrying on the fast spread of the virus, separation from families and friends, and concerns about jobs and financial situation are a few factors are impacting on our mental and physical wellbeing.  Therefore, it was as a blast of good news and relief, that within the initial government statement daily outdoor exercise was one reason few reasons that allowed us to leave home, together with shopping for necessities, and medical needs.

The announcement was a fortunate and much needed recognition of the significance of physical activity on our physical and mental wellbeing.  Researchers and public health professionals who have been campaigning for the promotion of physical activity in our society and trying to raise physical activity as a priority in a demanding public health and social care agenda, have celebrated these few words of public health advocacy to the whole nation.

The importance of physical activity has also been recognised on recent scientific papers on Covid-19.  In a call for action for research on the effect of Covid-19 on mental health, the work of Holmes et al² published in The Lancet tried to forecast the direct and indirect psychological and social effects of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health.  Exercise interventions fitted as one the long-term strategies to support coping and resilience.

Although we are still waiting to learn more about the population’s physical activity levels during lockdown, an international survey showed that Covid-19 induced home confinement had a negative impact on total physical activity³, but scientific data from the UK population physical activity levels are still missing.

Another aspect to be explored concerning physical activity is the association with severity of Covid -19 symptoms.  A large (387,109 adults) UK community-based cohort study found that physical inactivity and smoking were significant lifestyle risk factor predictors of hospitalisation due to Covid -19⁴ showing initial signs that being physically activity might be protective risk factor.

At the University of Huddersfield, our physical activity and mental health research team are developing upon such research and are investigating the effect of lifestyle physical activity and exercise on mental wellbeing during lockdown.  An additional aim is to explore the effects of physical activity on the development and severity of Covid-19 symptoms.

We kindly ask you to click on this link and complete the questionnaire to aid in this Covid-19-related research.  It will also give you a chance of winning one of the thirty £50 Amazon vouchers on a prize draw if you choose.

In the meantime, be safe and exercise.”

 

Written by Dr Liane Azevedo is a Reader in Health, Dr Susanna Kola-Palmer is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Matthew Pears is a PhD candidate at the University of Huddersfield

References:

1. Penedo, F. J., & Dahn, J. R. (2005). Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity. Current opinion in psychiatry, 18(2), 189-193.
2. Holmes, E.A., O'Connor, R.C., Perry, V.H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Cohen Silver, R., Everall, I., Ford, T., John, A, Kabir, T., King, K., Madan, I., Michie, S., Przybylski, A.K, Shafran, R., Sweeney, A., Worthman, C.M, Yardley, L., Cowan, K., Cope, C., Hotopf, M., Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. Lancet Psychiatry. pii: S2215-0366(20)30168-1.
3. Ammar A, Brach M, Trabelsi K, et al. Effects of COVID-19 Home Confinement on Eating Behaviour and Physical Activity: Results of the ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):E1583. doi:10.3390/nu12061583
4. Hamer M, Kivimäki M, Gale CR, David Batty G. (2020). Lifestyle risk factors, inflammatory mechanisms, and COVID-19 hospitalization: A community-based cohort study of 387,109 adults in UK. Brain Behav Immun. 2020; S0889-1591(20)30996-X. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.059