Experimental effects of brief, single bouts of walking and meditation on mood profile in young adults

Background: To examine the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise and meditation on mood state among young adults. Methods: Participants (N=66, mean age=21.3 years) were randomly assigned to walk, meditate, or sit (control) for 10 minutes. Participants' mood state was monitored before and after the intervention using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. Results: Significant group x time interaction effects were observed for the POMS composite scores (P=0.05). When evaluating three POMS subscales separately (depression/dejection, anger/hostility, and fatigue/inertia), only fatigue/inertia was found to have a significant group x time effect (P=0.04). Post hoc paired t tests revealed that fatigue/inertia subscale scores significantly decreased from baseline to post-intervention in both the exercise (P=0.03) and meditation (P < 0.001) groups. However, POMS composite scores decreased significantly in the meditation group (P < 0.001) but not in the exercise group (P=0.10). Conclusion: A 10-minute bout of brisk walking and meditation both improved mood state, when compared to an inactive control group. A single bout of brisk walking or meditation may offer suitable strategies to improve mood state among young adults.