The Effects of Intensity of Physical Activity on Mental Health

Modern, complicated society has brought various stressors, and consequentially, more and more people are suffering from mental health problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of physical activity at different intensities (high, moderate and low) on mental health-related factors (self-rated health, stress, sleep time, and depression). The raw data of the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were utilized. Data of 1,622 samples were extracted for analysis regarding self-rated health, stress, sleep time, and depression in adults aged over 20 years who participated in physical activity. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. The differences between the groups were verified through the analysis of variance and post-hoc analysis. All statistical significance levels were set at .05. There were statistically significant differences in self-rated health status, sleep time, and depression between intensities of physical activity (p < .05). Specifically, the self-rated health status and depressive moods present the lowest score in the high-intensity physical activity group among 3 groups. The moderate-intensity of physical activity group showed the longest sleep time. In conclusion, it is necessary to pay attention to the selecting appropriate intensity of physical activity to manage mental health.