The effects of running, environment, and attentional focus on athletes' catecholamine and cortisol levels and mood

This study was designed to examine some of the psychoneuroendocrine effects of exercise‐induced emotional experiences and the mediating effects of environmental setting and subjects’ attentional focus. Trained runners were tested during an outdoor run and two indoor treadmill running conditions. Exc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychophysiology 1995-01, Vol.32 (1), p.49-54
Main Authors: HARTE, JANE L., EIFERT, GEORG H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Affect - physiology
Attention - physiology
Attentional focus
Biological and medical sciences
Catecholamine
Cortisol
Environment
Epinephrine - urine
Exercise
Exercise Test
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Hydrocortisone - urine
Internal-External Control
Male
Mood
Norepinephrine - urine
Running - physiology
Social Environment
Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports
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Summary:This study was designed to examine some of the psychoneuroendocrine effects of exercise‐induced emotional experiences and the mediating effects of environmental setting and subjects’ attentional focus. Trained runners were tested during an outdoor run and two indoor treadmill running conditions. Excretions of catecholamines and Cortisol significantly increased after all running conditions but not after a control condition. Results indicate that patterns of endocrine and concomitant emotional change through exercise differ when environmental setting and attentional focus are altered in such a way that a normally pleasant task such as running becomes tedious and negatively evaluated. These findings support the notion that setting, attention, and cognitive appraisal may alter the emotional experience associated with physical exercise.
ISSN:0048-5772
1469-8986
1540-5958
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb03405.x