ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2021
When Much Is Too Much-Compared to Light Exercisers, Heavy Exercisers Report More Mental Health Issues and Stress, but Less Sleep Complaints.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining the Effects of Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment Training on Self-Compassion and Grit among Elite Female Athletes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Relationships between vigorous physical activity and psychological complaints in adolescents: findings from 240,951 participants.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Physical activity and academic burnout among middle school students: uncovering cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The impact of sport engagement on life satisfaction, mental and psychological well-being among athletes.PloS one · 2026Article
- Mental health in children with and without ADHD: the role of physical activity and parental nativity.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Inflammation and depression: an evolutionary framework for the role of physical activity and exercise.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Gender-specific differences in mental health literacy and influencing factors among residents in Foshan City, China: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Mental health, eating disorder risk, and disordered eating patterns among Lebanese National Taekwondo Players: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Facing stress and inflammation: From the cell to the planet.World journal of experimental medicine · 2024Review
- The influence of perceived stress and motivation on telomere length among NCAA swimmers.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2024Article
- Age of Onset Moderates the Association between Total Antioxidant Capacity and Cognitive Deficits in Patients with Drug-Naïve Schizophrenia.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Personality Traits Associated with the Risk of Exercise Dependence in Ultraendurance Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhysical inactivity has become a global somatic and mental health issue. To counterbalance, promoting regular physical activity appears plausible, above all among adults, where physical inactivity is particularly high. However, some, but sparse, research also indicates that excessive exercising might be associated with unfavorable mental health dimensions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that excessive exercising was associated with more mental health issues. To this end, we assessed mental health issues, stress, mental toughness, and sleep disturbances among heavy and light adult exercisers.
methodsA total of 200 adults (mean age: 35 years; 62% females) took part in the study. Of those, 100 were heavy exercisers (18-22 h/week), and 100 were light exercisers (1-6 h/week). Participants completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, mental health issues, perceived stress, mental toughness, and sleep disturbances.
resultsCompared with light exercisers, heavy exercisers reported higher mental health issues, more stress, but also higher mental toughness scores and less sleep disturbances. Higher age, lower mental toughness scores, heavy exerciser-status, and more sleep disturbances predicted higher mental health complaints.
conclusionsCompared with light exercising, heavy exercising might be associated with more mental health issues. As such, it appears that the association between exercise frequency, intensity, and duration and psychological well-being might be related to an optimum point, but not to a maximum point. In a similar vein, heavily exercising athletes, their coaches, parents, and representatives of sports associations should get sensitized to possible adverse psychological effects of excessive physical activity patterns.
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