Effects of physical activity and training routines on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and curfew

Front.Psychol., June 3, 2021| https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624035

Commentary

This study was investigating the effects of physical activity and training routines on mental health during the declaration of a state of emergency and curfew due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mental health components of psychological distress and subjective well-being were measured and administered to different samples in two studies.

Study 1 at the beginning of the Serbian curfew (N = 678) and Study 2 at the end of the curfew (N = 398).

The results of Study 1 showed that elite athletes and athletes with high levels of physical activity were the least distressed, and that the effect of changes in training routines on distress in physically active individuals depended on the level of sports participation, with less anxiety in elite athletes who reduced their training compared to recreational athletes who also reduced their training and maintained their training routines.

It was concluded that in the early stages of the pandemic, elite athletes showed better mental health and adaptability to crisis situations.

Results from Study 2 showed that all participants had decreased well-being during the curfew, but there was no difference in well-being between elite and recreational athletes compared to the period before the pandemic and the curfew.

This effect held both before and during the curfew, indicating that physically inactive individuals did not benefit further from this reduction compared to inactive individuals.

And because athletes who became physically inactive showed poorer well-being compared to athletes who maintained the same training routine, we reported that prolonged physical inactivity has a negative impact on mental health in the later stages of a pandemic.