Arousal and Vigilance: The Effects of Physical Exercise and Positive Mood on Attention

The present study was an effort to examine the extent to which the different states of arousal, as induced through exercise and manipulation of positive mood, interact to affect attentional processes. Thirty-four healthy participants were randomly assigned into 2 mood conditions: neutral and positive. A computerized auditory continuous performance test was used to measure attentional performance. Following baseline performance at rest and mood induction, participants completed the test while walking on a treadmill. Results showed that the impact of physical exercise-induced arousal on attention varied as a function of mood, such that while exercising, participants were able to maintain detectability scores and refrain from making an exaggerated number of commission errors only following positive (but not neutral) mood induction. These findings suggest that the impact of exercise on attention may depend on other key variables, such as mood.