Self-Control and Exercise: A Review of the Bi-Directional Relationship

Investigating psychological mechanisms of self-controlled decisions for food and leisure activity

Maintaining a healthy body weight requires balancing energy intake and expenditure. While previous research investigated energy input or food decisions, little is known about energy output or leisure activity decisions. By combining experimental decision-making paradigms and computational approaches, we investigated the psychological mechanisms of self-controlled food and leisure activity decisions through the effects of reward-oriented and health-oriented preferences as well as body weight status, stress, and coping. Based on individual's responses, the self-controlled food and leisure activity choices were indexed as the proportions of "no" unhealthy but tasty (or enjoyable) (inhibitory self-control against short-term pleasure) and "yes" healthy but not tasty (or not enjoyable) responses (initiatory self-control for long-term health benefits). The successful self-control decisions for food and leisure activity were positively correlated with each other, r = 22, p < .01. In beta regression analyses, the successful self-controlled food decisions decreased as the taste-oriented process increased, β = - 0.50, z = -2.99, p < .005, and increased as the health-oriented process increased, β = 1.57, z = 4.68, p < .001. Similarly, the successful self-controlled leisure activity decisions decreased as the enjoyment-oriented process increased, β = - 0.79, z = -5.31, p < .001, and increased as the health-oriented process increased, β = 0.66, z = 2.19, p < .05. The effects of the other factors were not significant. Overall, our findings demonstrated the mutual interrelationship between food and leisure activity decision-making and suggest that encouraging health-oriented processes may benefit both energy input and expenditure domains and improve self-controlled choices.

The Effects of Prescribed Physical and Cognitive Exercise on Life Satisfaction, Self-Efficacy and Mood States in Adults with Down Syndrome: The MinDSets Study

Down syndrome (DS) is characterised by a duplication of chromosome-21 and is linked to co-occurring physical and mental health conditions, including low self-efficacy and disturbed mood states. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an eight-week prescribed physical and/or cognitive training intervention on measures of mood disturbance, life satisfaction and self-efficacy in a population of adults with DS. Eighty-three participants (age 27.1 ± 8.0 years) from across five continents volunteered. Participants were assigned using matched groups based upon performance in a modified six-minute walk test to either an exercise (EXE) 3 × 30 min of walking/jogging per week, cognitive training (COG) 6 × 20 min per week, a combined group (COM) or the control (CON) who did not complete any intervention. Profile of Mood States (POMS) were assessed using a five-point scale across 65 categories pre- and post-study as well as upon completion of each week of the intervention. In addition, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and self-efficacy using the Generalised Self-Efficacy scale (GSE) were recorded before and after the intervention. GSE increased for all participants by 1.9 ± 5.2 (p = 0.002) from pre- to post-intervention, while POMS showed significant changes for the whole group from pre- to post-intervention for tension (p < 0.001), depression (p < 0.001) and for anger (p < 0.001). In addition, significant correlations were observed between SWLS and ΔTMD, Δtension, Δanger, and Δfatigue (p < 0.05) for EXE. Both COG and EXE provide a framework for empowering enhancements in life satisfaction, self-efficacy and mood states fostering improvements in quality of life.

Effects of physical exercise on adolescent short video addiction: A moderated mediation model

Objective

To discuss the effects of physical exercise (PE) on adolescent short video addiction (SVA) and analyze the mediating effects of self-control (SC) and the moderating effects of the cumulative ecological risk (CER), aiming to provide theoretical support for PE relative to adolescent SVA, investigate the underlying mechanisms of the effects of PE.

Methods

The Physical Activity Rating Scale-3, Problematic TikTok Use Scale, Self-Control Scale, and Cumulative Ecological Risk Scale were used to survey 756 adolescents in Chongqing and Chengdu, China. SPSS was used to construct a research model by conducting reliability, confirmatory factor, common method bias, and AMOS analyses.

Results

PE was significantly and negatively related to adolescent SVA (β = -0.30, p < 0.01). SC served as a partial mediator between PE and adolescent SVA, the direct and indirect effect values are -0.304 and -0.167 respectively, showing that SC negatively predicted the relationship between the two variables. The CER moderated the effect of PE (t = -11.679, p < 0.001) and SC (t = -15.069, p < 0.001) on adolescent SVA.

Conclusion

PE mitigates and moderates adolescent SVA through the mediating effect of SC and the moderating effect of CER.

Self-control and grit: associations with weight management and healthy habits

Weight management requires resisting immediate temptations in one's environment (self-control) as well as the ability to persevere towards one's long-term goals despite minor setbacks (grit). This study sought to establish relationships between self-control, grit, and behavioral and health outcomes in the context of a couples-based weight management intervention. Couples (n = 64 dyads) in a behaviorally based intervention completed measures of self-control and grit at study entry and the end of treatment (6 months). Habit automaticity for self-weighing and exercise as well as objective weights were measured at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months (maintenance). Self-control and grit increased during treatment; these increases were significantly associated with greater self-weighing habit automaticity at 6 months. Baseline self-control, changes in self-control, and baseline grit were also associated with 6-month exercise automaticity. Only baseline grit was associated with weight loss maintenance. No partner effects were observed. Findings suggest that self-control and grit are malleable constructs that may play an important role in health behavior habits associated with weight management.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02570009, October, 7, 2015.

Self-regulation of effort for a better health-related quality of life: a multidimensional activity pacing model for chronic pain and fatigue management

PURPOSE

To propose a comprehensive multidimensional model of activity pacing that improves health-related quality of life and promotes sustained physical activity engagement among adults with chronic conditions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A narrative review was conducted to examine the existing literature on activity pacing, health-related quality of life, pain and fatigue management, and physical activity promotion in chronic conditions.

RESULTS

The literature revealed a lack of a cohesive approach towards a multidimensional model for using activity pacing to improve health-related quality of life. A comprehensive multidimensional model of activity pacing was proposed, emphasizing the importance of considering all aspects of pacing for sustained physical activity engagement and improved health-related quality of life. The model incorporates elements such as rest breaks, self-regulatory skills, environmental factors, and effective coping strategies for depression/anxiety. It takes into account physical, psychological, and environmental factors, all of which contribute significantly to the enhancement of health-related quality of life, physical function, and overall well-being, reflecting a holistic approach.

CONCLUSIONS

The model offers guidance to researchers and clinicians in effectively educating patients on activity pacing acquisition and in developing effective interventions to enhance physical activity engagement and health outcomes among adults with chronic conditions. Additionally, it serves as a tool towards facilitating discussions on sustained physical activity and a healthy lifestyle for patients, which can eventually lead to improved quality of life.

The Associations between Obsessive Compulsive Personality Traits, Self-Efficacy, and Exercise Addiction

Exercise addiction refers to maladaptive exercise patterns involving compulsivity and addiction-like behaviors. Exercise addiction has been found to relate to negative physical and mental health outcomes such as heart abnormalities, physical injuries, and interpersonal conflicts. Based on the social cognitive theory, this study investigated the extent to which the interplay of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) traits and self-efficacy beliefs would influence the development and maintenance of exercise addiction. A total of 1228 college students in the United States responded to an online survey. Based on cut-off scores of the Revised Exercise Addiction Inventory, the prevalence estimates of exercise addiction were 4.0% for males and 1.8% for females. Results showed that males are more prone to exercise addiction than females. Also, OCPD traits and self-efficacy significantly predicted exercise addiction after controlling for age and sex. Self-efficacy acted as a moderator in influencing the relationship between OCPD traits and exercise addiction, especially for females. At high levels of self-efficacy, more OCPD traits were significantly associated with a higher risk of exercise addiction. However, at low levels of self-efficacy, there was no association between OCPD traits and exercise addiction. The findings suggest that public education and intervention for exercise addiction should attend to the interplay between personality factors and sex.

Protective effect of restorative possibilities on cognitive function and mental health in children and adolescents: A scoping review including the role of physical activity

Background The exposome approach can be a powerful tool for understanding the intertwining of social, physical, and internal influences that shape mental health and cognitive development throughout childhood. To distil conceptual models for subsequent analyses, the EU-funded project Early Environmental quality and Life-course mental health effects (Equal-Life) has conducted literature reviews on potential mediators linking the exposome to these outcomes. We report on a scoping review and a conceptual model of the role of restorative possibilities and physical activity. Methods Peer-reviewed studies published since the year 2000 in English, on the association between the exposome and mental health/cognition in children/adolescents, and quantitatively investigating restoration/restorative quality as a mediating variable were considered. Database searches were last updated in December 2022. We used an unstructured expert-driven approach to fill in gaps in the reviewed literature. Results Five records of three distinct studies were identified, indicating a scarcity of empirical evidence in this newly developing research area. Not only were these studies few in numbers, but also cross-sectional, lending only tentative support to the idea that perceived restorative quality of adolescent's living environment might mediate the association between greenspace and mental health. Physical activity emerged as a mediator leading to better psychological outcomes in restorative environments. We provide a critical discussion of potential caveats when investigating the restoration mechanism in children and propose a hierarchical model including restoration, physical activity, and relational dynamics between children and their environment, including social context, as well as restorative environments other than nature. Conclusions It is justified to further explore the role of restoration and physical activity as mediators in the association between early-life exposome and mental health/cognitive development. It is important to consider the child perspective and specific methodological caveats. Given the evolving conceptual definitions/operationalizations, Equal-Life will attempt to fill in a critical gap in the literature.

Mind-over-body beliefs in sport and exercise: A driving force for training volume and performance, but with risks for exercise addiction

We assume that athletic success is associated with certain beliefs that on the one hand promote performance-enhancing behavior (training volume), but on the other hand can also be detrimental to health (sports addiction). These beliefs are succinctly characterized by the title of the 9-item "Mind-over-Body" scale presented here. They are the three beliefs that 1) athletic performance requires a high level of effort, 2) that willpower plays an important role in athletic success, and 3) that athletic success requires pain tolerance. A total of six web-survey-based studies with a total of 1121 participants (approximately gender parity), including individuals with different levels of athletic performance (no competition; amateur sport; regional, national, or international competition), examined the psychometric network and construct and criterion validity of the MoB scale. Exploratory graph analyses, which included the studies with the largest sample sizes, showed that the three belief components (effort, willpower, pain) form separable communities within the MoB network and that the MoB items form communities distinct from self-control and self-efficacy. Meta-analyzed correlations across all six studies showed low positive correlations with self-control and self-efficacy. In terms of criterion validity, MoB beliefs were positively correlated with training volume and exercise addiction. We discuss MoBs as "on the edge of unhealthy" and place MOBs within a framework of related but distinct concepts.

Undergraduates' Negative Emotion and Academic Procrastination During COVID-19: Life Autonomy as a Mediator and Sense of School Belonging as a Moderator

Introduction

This study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate students' academic procrastination and negative emotions. It seeks to examine the relationship between negative affect and academic procrastination among university students, considering the mediating role of life autonomy and the moderating effect of a sense of school belonging.

Methods

The study sample consisted of 776 university students from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Data collection involved the use of the Negative Affect Scale, Academic Procrastination Scale, Life Autonomy Scale, and Sense of School Belonging Scale. SPSS version 26.0 and PROCESS V3.580 to conduct relationship analysis, test the mediation model (model 4) and the moderated mediating model (model 7).

Results

The findings revealed significant relationships among the variables. Negative emotions were negatively related with life autonomy and sense of school belonging, and positively related with academic procrastination. Academic procrastination showed a negative correlation with both life autonomy and sense of school belonging. Sense of school belonging exhibited a positive relationship with life autonomy. The study also identified life autonomy as a mediator in the relationship between negative emotions and academic procrastination. Additionally, the sense of school belonging moderated the initial segment of the negative emotion-life autonomy-academic procrastination pathway.

Discussion

This study contributes to a better understanding of the association between negative affect and academic procrastination. It highlights that negative emotions have a direct and indirect influence on academic procrastination through the mediating role of life autonomy. Moreover, the moderating role of sense of school belonging suggests that the relationship between negative affect and life autonomy is stronger when the sense of school belonging is weaker.

Neurocomputational mechanisms of food and physical activity decision-making in male adolescents

We examined the neurocomputational mechanisms in which male adolescents make food and physical activity decisions and how those processes are influenced by body weight and physical activity levels. After physical activity and dietary assessments, thirty-eight males ages 14-18 completed the behavioral rating and fMRI decision tasks for food and physical activity items. The food and physical activity self-control decisions were significantly correlated with each other. In both, taste- or enjoyment-oriented processes were negatively associated with successful self-control decisions, while health-oriented processes were positively associated. The correlation between taste/enjoyment and healthy attribute ratings predicted actual laboratory food intake and physical activities (2-week activity monitoring). fMRI data showed the decision values of both food and activity are encoded in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, suggesting both decisions share common reward value-related circuits at the time of choice. Compared to the group with overweight/obese, the group with normal weight showed stronger brain activations in the cognitive control, multisensory integration, and motor control regions during physical activity decisions. For both food and physical activity, self-controlled decisions utilize similar computational and neurobiological mechanisms, which may provide insights into how to promote healthy food and physical activity decisions.

The effect of intergenerational rearing on young children’s self-control: The intervention effect of sports games

Objective

To investigate the effect of different rearing arrangements on children’s self-control and verify the promoting effect sports games might have on children’s self-control in intergenerational rearing.

Methods

A total of 72 intergenerational rearing children and 66 non-intergenerational rearing children were included in Experiment 1, in which the delay-of-gratification task was used to examine the differences in self-control among children with different rearing arrangements. In experiment 2, 70 intergenerational rearing children were included as subjects, and sports games were used to improve their self-control.

Results

The results of experiment 1 showed that compared with non-intergenerational rearing children, the self-control ability of intergenerational rearing children was poor. In experiment 2, it was found that after the intervention with sports games, the self-control ability of the children in the intergenerational rearing group was effectively improved.

Conclusion

Although intergenerational rearing arrangements have a certain negative impact on the self-control ability of children, the sports game intervention can be used to effectively develop the self-control ability of intergenerational rearing children.

How physical exercise impacts academic burnout in college students: The mediating effects of self-efficacy and resilience

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Academic burnout is harmful to college students, their institutions of learning, and society at large. While research has shown that physical exercise may be associated with reduced academic burnout, the underlying mechanisms require further exploration. This study explored the relationship between physical exercise and academic burnout in a sample of college students, with a focus on the serial mediating roles of self-efficacy and resilience.

METHODS

This study adopted a cross-sectional survey approach among a sample of undergraduate college students in China. We recruited 1,270 participants in the second half of the 2021-2022 academic year (476 men and 794 women), all of whom completed questionnaires containing the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Academic Burnout Scale for College Students, 10-item General Self-Efficacy Scale, and 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. We then subjected the collected data to a series of statistical analyses.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Physical exercise was significantly and negatively associated with academic burnout and its three subfactors (i.e., emotional exhaustion, improper behavior, and low personal achievement). Participants in the high physical exercise group showed lower levels of academic burnout than those in the moderate and low physical exercise groups. Finally, our serial mediation model showed that physical exercise had a significant direct effect on academic burnout (β = -0.1104, 95% CI = [-0.1421, -0.0791]) in addition to significant indirect effects on academic burnout via self-efficacy and resilience (β = -0.0802, 95% CI = [-0.1088, -0.0527]); the more exercise participation, the lower the academic burnout among college students. These findings suggest that physical exercise is an important interventional target when aiming to reduce academic burnout.

The effect of trait self-control on dyspnoea and tolerance to a CO2 rebreathing challenge in healthy males and females

BACKGROUND

High trait self-control is associated with greater tolerance of unpleasant sensations including effort and pain. Dyspnoea and pain have several commonalities and this study aimed to investigate for the first time whether trait self-control influences responses to a hypercapnic rebreathing challenge designed to induce dyspnoea. As sex also influences tolerance to dyspnoea, we also sought to investigate whether this moderated the role of trait self-control.

METHODS

Participants (n = 65, 32 females) scoring high or low for trait self-control, performed a standardised rebreathing challenge, in which inspired carbon dioxide (CO₂) gradually increased over a period of 6 min or until an intolerable level of dyspnoea. Air hunger (AH) intensity - a distinctive quality of dyspnoea, was measured every 30 s. The multidimensional dyspnoea profile (MDP) was completed after the rebreathing challenge for a more complete overview of breathing discomfort.

RESULTS

Males high in trait self-control (SCHIGH) (302 ± 42 s), tolerated the rebreathing challenge for longer than males low in self-control (SCLOW) (252 ± 66 s, P = 0.021), experienced slower increases in AH intensity during the rebreathing challenge (0.03 ± 0.01 cm^.s ^- 1 vs. 0.04 ± 0.01 cm^.s ^- 1,P = 0.045) and reported lower perceived mental effort on the MDP (4.94 ± 2.46 vs. 7.06 ± 1.60, P = 0.007). There was no difference between SCHIGH and SCLOW females for challenge duration. However, SCHIGH females (9.29 ± 0.66 cm) reported greater air hunger at the end of the challenge than SCLOW females (7.75 ± 1.75 cm, P = 0.003). It is possible that SCLOW females were unwilling to tolerate the same perceptual intensity of AH as the SCHIGH females.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that individuals high in trait self-control are more tolerant of dyspnoea during a CO₂ rebreathing challenge than low self-control individuals. Tolerance of the stimulus was moderated by the sex of the participant, presenting an interesting opportunity for future research.

Longitudinal associations between physical activity and other health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic: a fixed effects analysis

Government enforced restrictions on movement during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have had profound impacts on the daily behaviours of many individuals, including physical activity (PA). Given the associations between PA and other health behaviours, changes in PA during the pandemic may have been detrimental for other health behaviours. This study aimed to evaluate whether changes in PA during and after the first national lockdown in the United Kingdom (UK) were associated with concurrent changes in alcohol consumption, sleep, nutrition quality, diet quantity and sedentary time. Data were derived from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study, in which 52,784 adults were followed weekly across 22 weeks of the pandemic from 23rd March to 23rd August 2020. Fixed effects regression models showed that greater PA was positively associated with improved sleep and nutrition quality. However, increases in PA also showed modest associations with increased alcohol consumption and sedentary time. Encouraging people to engage in PA may lead to wider changes in other health behaviours in times of adversity. These associations could be a result of increases in available leisure time for many people during COVID-19 restrictions and are of ongoing importance given the emerging long-term changes to lifestyle and working patterns.

Exploring the Impact of Mental Fatigue and Emotional Suppression on the Performance of High-Intensity Endurance Exercise

This study investigated the extent to which mental fatigue and emotional suppression affected exercise endurance. Twelve participants performed cycling endurance tests at 80% of their peak power up to the point of exhaustion. Two experimental conditions (mental fatigue [MF] and emotion suppression conditions [ES]) and a control condition (CO) were administered. Participants responded to psychological measures throughout the exercise trials. Both MF and ES conditions hindered exercise performance relative to the CO, and there was no statistically significant difference between the negative effects of both MF and ES conditions. Of note, however, higher levels of subjective fatigue were reported in MF, prior to commencing the exercise test. High cognitive loads that induce MF and/or engaging in ES may reduce high intensity endurance exercise performance among young adults, but further research with greater numbers of participants is needed to replicate and extend these findings.

Alexithymia increases effects of ego-depletion

Alexithymia is associated with deficiencies to identify, describe and express emotions, paucity of fantasies and an externally oriented cognitive style. The current studies provide evidence that alexithymia is also related to self-regulation processes and exacerbates effects of ego-depletion, a state where self-regulation resources are reduced due to previous acts of self-regulation. In Study 1, ego-depletion effects of a handgrip task on pain tolerance were increased by alexithymia. In Study 2, an emotion suppression task showed stronger effects of ego-depletion on a Stroop task in participants high rather than low in alexithymia, but only after suppression of emotions induced by negative and not positive pictures. The results imply that alexithymia increases susceptibility to ego-depletion effects, that consumption of self-regulatory resources has stronger consequences for people high in alexithymia and that they should experience special support in ways to replenish self-regulation resources.

The Role of Gender in Association between Emotional Intelligence and Self-Control among University Student-Athletes

The purpose of this study was to reveal the peculiarities of undergraduate studies university student-athletes’ emotional intelligence and self-control indicators, and the role of gender as a predictor in the association between emotional intelligence and self-control. The study included students regularly involved in training at least three times a week. The sample consisted of 1395 student athletes from Lithuanian universities, among them 59.2% female and 40.8% male. For measurement, the SSRI inventory and a self-control scale were used. All values of emotional intelligence indicators were significantly higher for males than females. Estimates of the components of the self-control construct varied. The score for the healthy habits component was significantly higher for women than for men, the self-discipline component did not differ significantly, and the other three components were higher for males. Estimates of the components of the self-control construct varied. Models for predicting the values of self-control components were proposed. Only one component of the emotional intelligence construct, optimism, was repeated in all forecasting models, as well as gender. Other components of emotional intelligence vary in models.

Increasing Physical Activity among Breast Cancer Survivors by Modulating Temporal Orientation with rTMS: Feasibility and Potential Efficacy

Maintaining adequate amounts of physical activity is a critical component of survivorship care for women with breast cancer. Increased physical activity is associated with increases in well-being, quality of life, and longevity, but women with cancer face unique, cancer-related factors that might affect physical activity. Consistent with the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems model of decision making, we proposed to decrease delay discounting and increase physical activity by stimulating the executive function system via high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF rTMS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC). This randomized, sham-controlled, double-blinded trial examined the feasibility and potential efficacy of this approach to increase physical activity in breast cancer survivors. We hypothesized that active rTMS would significantly increase the mean number of steps per day and decrease delay discounting. Participants (n = 30) were primarily middle-aged (M = 53.7, SD = 7.9) and white with a mean BMI and body mass indices below 40. Indicators of feasibility and limited efficacy testing were positive. Although repeated-measures ANOVA revealed no significant changes in delay discounting, generalized estimating equations (GEE) found that participants in the active condition increased their mean daily steps by 400 steps per day, while those in the sham condition decreased this by nearly 600 steps per day. These findings indicate that the continued investigation of HF rTMS for increasing physical activity among women with breast cancer is justified.

Detrimental effects of prior self-control exertion on subsequent sporting skill performance

The prior exertion of self‐control has previously been shown to negatively affect physical performance, yet the effects on complex sporting skill performance have not been examined. Therefore, this study examined whether prior self‐control exertion influences performance on a field hockey task, alongside measuring plasma cortisol concentration and attention as potential mechanisms to explain any effects.

Following familiarization, 13 male hockey players (20 ± 1 years) participated in a randomized, order‐balanced, crossover design. For the manipulation of self‐control, participants completed an incongruent (self‐control exertion trial) or a congruent (control trial) Stroop task. Skill performance was assessed using a field hockey skills task. Capillary blood samples, for the determination of plasma cortisol concentration, were taken at baseline, post‐Stroop task, and post‐field hockey skills task. Cognitive tests of attention (RVIP and Flanker tasks) were completed following the field hockey skills task.

Participants made more errors in the latter stages of the field hockey skills task following self‐control exertion (trial*time interaction, p = 0.041). Participants also made more errors on the RVIP task following self‐control exertion (p = 0.035); yet the time taken to complete the hockey skills task, performance on the flanker task, and plasma cortisol concentrations were unaffected (all p > 0.05).

Overall, these findings suggest that prior self‐control exertion has detrimental effects on subsequent sporting skill performance (more errors made on the field hockey task), which may be explained by poorer sustained attention (lower accuracy on the RVIP task). This suggests that athletes should aim to avoid self‐control exertion before a competitive match to optimize performance.

Using Smartphone Sensor Data to Assess Inhibitory Control in the Wild: Longitudinal Study

Background

Inhibitory control, or inhibition, is one of the core executive functions of humans. It contributes to our attention, performance, and physical and mental well-being. Our inhibitory control is modulated by various factors and therefore fluctuates over time. Being able to continuously and unobtrusively assess our inhibitory control and understand the mediating factors may allow us to design intelligent systems that help manage our inhibitory control and ultimately our well-being.

Objective

The aim of this study is to investigate whether we can assess individuals’ inhibitory control using an unobtrusive and scalable approach to identify digital markers that are predictive of changes in inhibitory control.

Methods

We developed InhibiSense, an app that passively collects the following information: users’ behaviors based on their phone use and sensor data, the ground truths of their inhibition control measured with stop-signal tasks (SSTs) and ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), and heart rate information transmitted from a wearable heart rate monitor (Polar H10). We conducted a 4-week in-the-wild study, where participants were asked to install InhibiSense on their phone and wear a Polar H10. We used generalized estimating equation (GEE) and gradient boosting tree models fitted with features extracted from participants’ phone use and sensor data to predict their stop-signal reaction time (SSRT), an objective metric used to measure an individual’s inhibitory control, and identify the predictive digital markers.

Results

A total of 12 participants completed the study, and 2189 EMAs and SST responses were collected. The results from the GEE models suggest that the top digital markers positively associated with an individual’s SSRT include phone use burstiness (P=.005), the mean duration between 2 consecutive phone use sessions (P=.02), the change rate of battery level when the phone was not charged (P=.04), and the frequency of incoming calls (P=.03). The top digital markers negatively associated with SSRT include the standard deviation of acceleration (P<.001), the frequency of short phone use sessions (P<.001), the mean duration of incoming calls (P<.001), the mean decibel level of ambient noise (P=.007), and the percentage of time in which the phone was connected to the internet through a mobile network (P=.001). No significant correlation between the participants’ objective and subjective measurement of inhibitory control was found.

Conclusions

We identified phone-based digital markers that were predictive of changes in inhibitory control and how they were positively or negatively associated with a person’s inhibitory control. The results of this study corroborate the findings of previous studies, which suggest that inhibitory control can be assessed continuously and unobtrusively in the wild. We discussed some potential applications of the system and how technological interventions can be designed to help manage inhibitory control.

The Role of Exercise in Management of Mental Health Disorders: An Integrative Review

A large and growing body of evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) may hold therapeutic promise in the management of mental health disorders. Most evidence linking PA to mental health outcomes has focused on the effects of aerobic exercise training on depression, although a growing body of work supports the efficacy of both aerobic and resistance exercise paradigms in the treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite abundant evidence linking PA and mental health, use of exercise training as a mental health treatment remains limited due to three important sources of uncertainty: (a) large individual differences in response to exercise treatment within multiple mental health domains; (b) the critical importance of sustained PA engagement, not always achieved, for therapeutic benefit; and (c) disagreement regarding the relative importance of putative therapeutic mechanisms. Our review of treatment data on exercise interventions and mental health outcomes focuses primarily on depression and anxiety within a health neuroscience framework. Within this conceptual framework, neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms may have additiveor synergistic influences on key cognitive and behavioral processes that influence mental health outcomes. We therefore highlight sources of treatment heterogeneity by integrating the critical influences of (a) neurobiological mechanisms enhancing neuroplasticity and (b) behavioral learning of self-regulatory skills. Understanding the interrelationships between dynamic neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms may help inform personalized mental health treatments and clarify why, and for whom, exercise improves mental health outcomes. The review concludes with recommendations for future studies leveraging individual differences to refine treatment approaches to optimize mental health benefits.