ReviewBrain plasticity (Amsterdam, Netherlands)2019
Self-Control and Exercise: A Review of the Bi-Directional Relationship.
Review in Brain plasticity (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of high-intensity interval training on executive function in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect of 6 weeks Physical Activity on Cognitive Control and Trait Impulsivity in Multi-problem Young Adults: First Findings of an RCT-study.International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology · 2026Trial
- Self-control and grit: associations with weight management and healthy habits.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2024Trial
- Detrimental effects of prior self-control exertion on subsequent sporting skill performance.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2021Trial
- Increasing Physical Activity among Breast Cancer Survivors by Modulating Temporal Orientation with rTMS: Feasibility and Potential Efficacy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Inside the Minds of Professional and Elite Athletes: A Qualitative Exploration of Perspectives on Cannabinoid Use in Contact Sports.Sports health · 2026Article
- Cross-lagged analysis of physical exercise, personal sense of mastery, and involution-lying flat mentality among Chinese youth.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between physical exercise and sleep procrastination in college students: the chain mediating role of self-control and time management tendencies.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between physical activity and music performance anxiety among university music students: a chain mediation model.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Examining the associations of self-control with physical fitness, cardiometabolic health, and well-being in young people aged 9-13 years.Frontiers in cognition · 2026Article
- Effects of physical activity on anxiety phenomenon in vocational college students-chain mediation of self-control and mobile phone dependence.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a scale of healthy psychological effects of physical exercise among Chinese college students from a multidimensional mental health perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Sport motivation is associated with lower aggression via emotional intelligence and self-control: a serial mediation study in undergraduates.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Exploring the influence of problematic smartphone use on physical activity: chain mediation of Self-Control and Exercise Procrastination and moderation by Independent and Interdependent Self-Construal.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Effects of physical activity on externalizing problems in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: the chain mediating effects of school connectedness and self-control.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- A complex systems view on physical activity with actionable insights for behaviour change.Nature human behaviour · 2025Review
- Physical Exercise and Behavioral Addiction: How Self-Control and Subjective Emptiness Jointly Mediate the Reduction of Short-Video Addiction in Adolescents.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Article
- The role of frontal pole cortex and personalized feedback in sustaining future-oriented healthy dietary behaviors.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Unravelling cyberbullying among Egyptian adolescents: the protective influence of self-control and moral identity with gender and socioeconomic dynamics.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- The effort hypothesis at the heart of the virtuous circle.EXCLI journal · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Self-control has been defined as the mental capacity of an individual to alter, modify, change or override their impulses, desires, and habitual responses. In this review, we will discuss the bi-directional nature of the relationship between self-control and exercise. In brief, higher levels of trait self-control have been associated with greater exercise performance and adherence; whilst the depletion of state self-control has been shown to decrease performance and persistence on subsequent exercise tasks requiring self-control. In the opposite direction, long-term participation in exercise (and improved physical fitness) has been demonstrated to enhance self-control. Furthermore, an acute bout of exercise has been shown to enhance subsequent self-control, particularly when the exercise is of a moderate intensity and requires some degree of cognitive engagement. Throughout, when discussing each of these relationships, evidence will be drawn from other aspects of the review, where appropriate, to enhance our understanding of the observed effects. Finally, recommendations for future research will be made; including the importance of considering the bi-directional nature of the relationship, given that this has implications for our understanding of both self-control and exercise performance and adherence.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.