Daijiworld Media Network - Berlin

Berlin, May 18: An international study analysing more than three lakh real-time mood reports from over 8,000 participants worldwide has found that everyday physical activity is strongly linked to improved mood and positive emotions.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, showed that people generally feel better after engaging in daily movement and are also more likely to be physically active when already in a positive mood.

Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum and several institutions in Europe and the United States analysed data collected through smartphones and wearable devices from 67 research groups across the world.

The study tracked participants’ daily routines, including activities such as walking, climbing stairs and household work, while simultaneously recording their emotional states.

“Within persons, physical activity displays a positive association with energetic arousal, positive affective states and valence, yet a negative relation to calmness,” the researchers noted in the study.

The findings revealed that energy levels showed the strongest relationship with movement, with over 95 per cent of participants reporting increased energy during or after physical activity.

Researchers also found that individuals with lower levels of well-being benefited the most from daily physical movement.

Co-author Amanda Staiano from Pennington Biomedical Research Center said the study highlighted the growing importance of understanding health behaviour in real-world settings.

“By incorporating data from diverse populations from around the world, we are gaining a clearer picture of how even small amounts of daily movement can meaningfully impact how people feel,” she said.

According to the researchers, the findings support earlier laboratory and short-term studies linking physical activity with improved mental well-being.

The use of smartphones and wearable devices allowed scientists to study behaviour under natural everyday conditions and better understand how physical activity affects individuals over time.

However, the researchers noted that further studies are needed to determine the exact causal relationship and understand why some individuals respond differently to exercise than others.

Future research will focus on identifying personal and environmental factors that influence these responses, they added.