More habitual physical activity is linked to the use of specific, more adaptive cognitive reappraisal strategies in dealing with stressful events

Abstract Physical activity may improve stress resilience and well‐being. However, specific links to individuals' coping abilities with stressful events are sparse. This study tested whether individuals reporting more physical activity in daily life showed a higher capacity for cognitive reappraisal in dealing with potential stressors. Ninety‐eight participants reported their regular physical activity in the Freiburger Questionnaire on Physical Activity and completed a maximum performance test of their inventiveness in generating reappraisals for situations depicting real‐life stressors. The latter provides scores for overall cognitive reappraisal capacity (quantity of ideas) and preference for specific cognitive reappraisal strategies (quality of ideas; positive reinterpretation; problem‐oriented, de‐emphasizing reappraisals). Additionally, participants' anxious and depressive dispositions and general creative abilities were assessed. Results showed no association between time spent on physical activities per week and total quantity of generated reappraisal ideas. However, a higher degree of physical activity was specifically linked to a greater relative preference for the reappraisal strategy of positive reinterpretation. Opposite associations emerged for the strategy of de‐emphasizing reappraisals. The findings support the notion of more adaptive cognitive reappraisal use in more physically active individuals and may advance research on interrelationships between physical activity and cognitive and affective functions implicated in stress management.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Stress and Health

• Publication date

  2020-01-20

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1002/smi.2929PMID 31957957PMCID 7497133
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• More habitual physical activity is linked to the use of specific, more adaptive cognitive reappraisal strategies in dealing with stressful events

  2020cited by this paper
• Stress: Appraisal and Coping

  2020cited by this paper
• Exercise and emotion dynamics: An experience sampling study.

  2019cited by this paper
• The efficacy of stress reappraisal interventions on stress responsivity: A meta-analysis and systematic review of existing evidence

  2019cited by this paper
• Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: An updated review of reviews and an analysis of causality

  2019cited by this paper
• Gender Differences in Generating Cognitive Reappraisals for Threatening Situations: Reappraisal Capacity Shields Against Depressive Symptoms in Men, but Not Women

  2019influential reference
• Experimental effects of acute exercise and music listening on cognitive creativity.

  2018cited by this paper
• Do all daily metabolic equivalent task units (METs) bring the same health benefits?

  2018cited by this paper
• Emotion regulation in social anxiety and depression: a systematic review of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal.

  2018cited by this paper
• Reappraisal inventiveness: impact of appropriate brain activation during efforts to generate alternative appraisals on the perception of chronic stress in women

  2018influential reference
• The creative brain in the figural domain: Distinct patterns of EEG alpha power during idea generation and idea elaboration

  2018cited by this paper
• Physical activity and trajectories in cognitive function: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

  2018cited by this paper
• Associations between physical behaviour patterns and levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety and well-being in middle-aged adults: a cross-sectional study using isotemporal substitution models

  2018cited by this paper
• Exercise and the Prevention of Depression: Results of the HUNT Cohort Study.

  2018cited by this paper
• DSM-5 personality trait domains and withdrawal versus approach motivational tendencies in response to the perception of other people's desperation and angry aggression.

  2018cited by this paper
• Creative Thinking in an Emotional Context: Specific Relevance of Executive Control of Emotion-Laden Representations in the Inventiveness in Generating Alternative Appraisals of Negative Events

  2018influential reference
• Cognitive reappraisal reduces perceived exertion during endurance exercise

  2018cited by this paper
• Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  2018cited by this paper
• Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study.

  2018cited by this paper
• Acute aerobic exercise helps overcome emotion regulation deficits

  2017cited by this paper
• Patterns of Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

  2017influential reference
• Creativity and physical fitness in primary school‐aged children

  2017cited by this paper
• Habitual exercise is associated with cognitive control and cognitive reappraisal success

  2017cited by this paper
• Sit, step, sweat: longitudinal associations between physical activity patterns, anxiety and depression

  2017cited by this paper
• Physical activity and anxiety: A perspective from the World Health Survey.

  2017cited by this paper
• The temporal dynamics of detached versus positive reappraisal: An ERP study

  2017cited by this paper
• Balance training improves memory and spatial cognition in healthy adults

  2017cited by this paper
• An examination of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for people with anxiety and stress-related disorders: A meta-analysis.

  2017cited by this paper
• Differential effects of self- and situation-focused reappraisal.

  2016cited by this paper
• Physical activity in European adolescents and associations with anxiety, depression and well-being

  2016cited by this paper
• Examining emotion regulation in depression: A review and future directions.

  2016cited by this paper
• Executive Control Mediates the Association Between Aerobic Fitness and Emotion Regulation in Preadolescent Children

  2016cited by this paper
• Transient cardiac responses to witnessing horrible events in young adult female exercisers and non-exercisers

  2016cited by this paper
• DSM-5 section III personality traits and section II personality disorders in a Flemish community sample.

  2016cited by this paper
• Physical activity and negative emotion during peer-rejection: Evidence for emotion context sensitivity

  2016cited by this paper
• Changes in fitness are associated with changes in hippocampal microstructure and hippocampal volume among older adults

  2016cited by this paper
• The capacity for generating cognitive reappraisals is reflected in asymmetric activation of frontal brain regions

  2016cited by this paper
• Creative ways to well-being: Reappraisal inventiveness in the context of anger-evoking situations

  2016cited by this paper
• Positive reappraisal in older adults: a systematic literature review

  2015cited by this paper
• A meta-meta-analysis of the effect of physical activity on depression and anxiety in non-clinical adult populations

  2015cited by this paper
• Physical activity, brain, and cognition

  2015cited by this paper
• A bidirectional relationship between physical activity and executive function in older adults

  2015cited by this paper
• Does a positive appraisal style work in all stressful situations and for all individuals?

  2015cited by this paper
• Common and differential neural networks of emotion regulation by Detachment, Reinterpretation, Distraction, and Expressive Suppression: A comparative fMRI investigation

  2014cited by this paper
• Physical activity interventions for people with mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

  2014cited by this paper
• Differences in health-related quality of life between three clusters of physical activity, sitting time, depression, anxiety, and stress

  2014cited by this paper
• The role of the DSM-5 personality trait model in moving toward a quantitative and empirically based approach to classifying personality and psychopathology.

  2014cited by this paper
• Emotion Regulation in Depression

  2014cited by this paper
• Neural markers of positive reappraisal and their associations with trait reappraisal and worry.

  2014cited by this paper
• A conceptual framework for the neurobiological study of resilience.

  2014cited by this paper
• Reappraisal inventiveness: The ability to create different reappraisals of critical situations

  2014influential reference
• The structure and correlates of self-reported DSM-5 maladaptive personality traits: findings from two German-speaking samples.

  2014cited by this paper
• Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking.

  2014cited by this paper
• Increased objectively assessed vigorous-intensity exercise is associated with reduced stress, increased mental health and good objective and subjective sleep in young adults.

  2014cited by this paper
• Physical activity, fitness, and gray matter volume.

  2014cited by this paper
• The Effects of Stress on Physical Activity and Exercise

  2013cited by this paper
• Beneficial effects of physical exercise on neuroplasticity and cognition.

  2013cited by this paper
• The Cognitive Building Blocks of Emotion Regulation: Ability to Update Working Memory Moderates the Efficacy of Rumination and Reappraisal on Emotion

  2013cited by this paper
• Individual differences in reappraisal effectiveness: the role of affective flexibility.

  2013influential reference
• Benefits of regular aerobic exercise for executive functioning in healthy populations

  2013cited by this paper
• The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking

  2013cited by this paper
• Does the level of physical exercise affect physiological and psychological responses to psychosocial stress in women

  2013cited by this paper
• Exercise Frequency, High Activation Positive Affect, and Psychological Well-Being: Beyond Age, Gender, and Occupation

  2012cited by this paper
• Turn down the volume or change the channel? Emotional effects of detached versus positive reappraisal.

  2012cited by this paper
• Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy

  2012cited by this paper
• Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation.

  2012cited by this paper
• Initial construction of a maladaptive personality trait model and inventory for DSM-5

  2011cited by this paper
• Morningness-eveningness personality and creative thinking among young people who play recreational sport

  2011cited by this paper
• The longitudinal effects of depression on physical activity.

  2009cited by this paper
• What works in coping with HIV? A meta-analysis with implications for coping with serious illness.

  2009cited by this paper
• Physical activity in european adolescents

  2008cited by this paper
• Associations between physical activity and perceived stress/hassles in college students

  2006cited by this paper
• Freiburger Fragebogen zur körperlichen Aktivität-Entwicklung, Prüfung und Anwendung

  2005cited by this paper
• Anxiety and depression are associated with unhealthy lifestyle in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

  2005cited by this paper
• Aerobic Exercise and Creative Potential: Immediate and Residual Effects

  2005cited by this paper
• Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity

  2005cited by this paper
• Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being.

  2003cited by this paper
• A Conceptual Framework

  2002influential reference
• Physical activity counseling: Assessment of physical activity by questionnaire

  2002cited by this paper
• Effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress: a unifying theory.

  2001cited by this paper
• Physical Activity

  2001cited by this paper
• Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities.

  2000cited by this paper
• [Freiburg Questionnaire of physical activity--development, evaluation and application].

  1999cited by this paper
• Exercise and the Experience and Appraisal of Daily Stressors: A Naturalistic Study

  1998cited by this paper
• Test for Creative Thinking—Drawing Production

  1995cited by this paper
• Exercise training in healthy type A middle‐aged men: effects on behavioral and cardiovascular responses.

  1988cited by this paper
• Social psychology of creativity: A consensual assessment technique.

  1982cited by this paper
• Essentials of psychological testing, 2nd ed.

  1960cited by this paper

• Cognitive reappraisal training as an intervention in patients with functional movement disorders: a placebo-controlled EEG pilot study.

  2026cites this paper
• Health literacy and emotion management in exercise-resilience link: The moderating role of self-efficacy.

  2026cites this paper
• The dynamic impact of stress mindsets on fatigue: Insights from an ecological momentary assessment and RDSEM approach.

  2026cites this paper
• Negative life events and problematic smartphone use among university students: the mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating role of physical activity

  2026cites this paper
• The moving brain: : A cross-pathways framework linking exercise to the modulation of aversive information processing

  2026cites this paper
• Longitudinal relationships among early adolescent physical exercise, internalizing symptoms, and learning engagement: exploring within-person dynamics and the role of gender differences

  2025cites this paper
• The Role of Self-Objectification and Physical Exercise in Social Appearance Anxiety and Restrained Eating Among Female College Students

  2025cites this paper
• A longitudinal analysis of physical exercise in shaping language learners’ emotional well-being: a comparative analysis between L1 and L2 students

  2025cites this paper
• Exploring the mechanisms influencing psychological adaptation in athletes in high-risk sports: a moderated mediation model

  2025cites this paper
• Effects of Chronic Exercise on Different Central Features of Depression in Adults with Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Random Controlled Trials.

  2025cites this paper
• Identifying critical abilities for optimal performance of air traffic controllers: a subject matter expert rating approach

  2025cites this paper
• Emotional regulation mechanisms regarding posttraumatic and depressive symptoms in maltreated youth

  2025cites this paper
• Associations of Home-Based Individual and Family Exercise with Personal and Family Well-Being Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-Based Survey in Hong Kong

  2025cites this paper
• Mental Health, Resilience, and Physical Activity in Civilians Affected by Conflict-Related Trauma: A Cross-Sectional Study

  2025cites this paper
• The effect of physical activity on resilience of Chinese children: the chain mediating effect of executive function and emotional regulation

  2025cites this paper
• Pre-Stress Exposure and Psychophysiological Responses During Cycling.

  2025cites this paper
• Emotion regulation interventions on physical activity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  2025cites this paper
• Investigating the Links between Physical Activity, Emotion Regulation, and Mental Health: Comparison in Active, Recreational, and Non-athletes

  2025cites this paper
• Mechanisms of Educational Attainment on Frailty in Older Adults with Colorectal Cancer: The Mediating Roles of Health Awareness, Physical Activity, and Stress Management

  2025influential citation
• Linking Exercise Adherence to Meaning in Life Through Resilience and Cognitive Reappraisal: A Sequential Mediation Model Among Chinese University Students

  2025cites this paper
• The latent profile structure of alexithymia in the elderly and its relationship to eating behaviors: the mediating role of physical activity

  2025cites this paper
• Determining the interconnection between personality and physical activity on perceived stress in a diverse sample

  2025cites this paper
• Using objective measures to evaluate the role of physical activity as a compensatory mechanism of emotion regulation

  2025cites this paper
• Effect of Exercise Withdrawal on Stress Reactivity to Repeated Mental and Physical Challenge Tasks

  2025cites this paper
• Intensity of Physical Activity in Young People: Focus on Emotional, Cognitive, and Healthy Lifestyle-Related Variables

  2024cites this paper
• Aerobic exercise promotes emotion regulation: a narrative review

  2024cites this paper
• How Does Physical Activity Enhance the Subjective Well-Being of University Students? A Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Resilience

  2024cites this paper
• The association between physical activity, self-efficacy, stress self-management and mental health among adolescents

  2024cites this paper
• Exploring the Links between Physical Activity, Emotional Regulation, and Mental Well-Being in Jordanian University Students

  2024influential citation
• Perspective Physical Exercise of Students' Health and Fitness in Xi'an Physical Education University

  2024cites this paper
• Use of physical activity as a coping strategy mediates the association between adolescent team sports participation and emerging adult mental health

  2024cites this paper
• Hyperactivity in ADHD: Friend or Foe?

  2024cites this paper
• Developing an Exercise Program to Improve Physical Fitness and Mental Health among University Students in Xi'an

  2024cites this paper
• Exploring the longitudinal association between stress and unhealthy eating behaviors: The role of physical activity, BMI, and loneliness.

  2024cites this paper
• Boosting happiness in left-behind children: Unveiling the power of physical activity through cognitive reappraisal and psychological resilience

  2024cites this paper
• Positive Reappraisal and Mental Well-Being During COVID-19: Does Physical Fitness Regulate the Link Among Pakistani Men and Women?

  2024cites this paper
• Habitual physical activity is related to more creative activities and achievements

  2024cites this paper
• A Work-Based, Fully Remote, and Peer-Supported Exercise Snack Behavior Change Intervention (MOV’D): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

  2024cites this paper
• Learning to be inventive in the face of statistics: A positive reappraisal intervention for statistics anxiety.

  2023cites this paper
• How would you respond to stereotype pressure? The effects of perceived occupational stigma on social workers’ proactive behavior in China

  2023cites this paper
• Asymmetric Activation of Frontal Brain Regions during Cognitive Reappraisal Generation - A Function of Implemented Reappraisal Strategy?

  2023cites this paper
• Acute and Chronic Physical Activity Increases Creative Ideation Performance: A Systematic Review and Multilevel Meta-analysis

  2022cites this paper
• Cognitive reappraisal inventiveness in emotion regulation

  2022influential citation
• The protective role of sense of community and access to resources on college student stress and COVID‐19‐related daily life disruptions

  2022cites this paper
• The effect of exercise intention on exercise behavior in the post-epidemic era: The moderator role of openness personality and the mediated role of exercise-induced feeling

  2022cites this paper
• Relationship between Physical Activity and Emotional Regulation Strategies in Early Adulthood: Mediating Effects of Cortical Thickness

  2022cites this paper
• The validity of the residuals approach to measuring resilience to adverse childhood experiences

  2021cites this paper
• Resilience in women with primary Sjögren’s syndrome

  2021cites this paper
• The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction for Military Cadets on Perceived Stress

  2021cites this paper
• Coping styles as predictors of negative affective conditions in Asian Indians: does being optimistic still make a difference?

  2021cites this paper
• High avoidance and low approach motivation affect cognitive reappraisal generation in the face of anger

  2021cites this paper
• Direct and Stress-Buffering Effects of COVID-19-Related Changes in Exercise Activity on the Well-Being of German Sport Students

  2021cites this paper
• The use of coping strategies “shift-persist” mediates associations between physical activity and mental health problems in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

  2021cites this paper
• Resilience and physical activity in people under home isolation due to COVID-19: A preliminary evaluation

  2020cites this paper
• Female and male soccer players recruited different cognitive processes when generating creative soccer moves

  2020cites this paper
• More habitual physical activity is linked to the use of specific, more adaptive cognitive reappraisal strategies in dealing with stressful events

  2020cites this paper