Acute effects of outdoor and indoor exercise on feelings of energy and fatigue in people with depressive symptoms

Objective: People with depressive symptoms often report low energy and fatigue. Though acute and chronic exercise can improve energy and fatigue, less is known about how the environment influences exercise response. This study quantified the effects of exercise completed outdoors and indoors on feelings of energy and fatigue among adults with depressive symptoms. Method: 18 young adults with depressive symptoms completed three counterbalanced 20-min conditions (outdoor exercise, indoor exercise, sedentary control). Exercise involved running for 20 min at moderate intensity. Participants completed self-reported measures of vigour-energy and fatigue immediately before and following each condition. Results: Compared to the sedentary control condition, exercise resulted in statistically significant and large improvements in feelings of energy. Improvements did not statistically differ between outdoor and indoor exercise. Exercise effects on feelings of fatigue were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Findings did not support that environment moderates the effects of exercise on feelings of energy in people with depressive symptoms. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.