Shall We Dance? Recreational Dance, Well-Being and Productivity Performance During COVID-19: A Three-Country Study
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PROVIDER: S-EPMC9133908 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BACKGROUND:Aging is generally considered to be related to physical and cognitive decline. This is especially prominent in the frontal and parietal lobes, underlying executive functions and spatial memory, respectively. This process could be successfully mitigated in certain ways, such as through the practice of aerobic sports. With regard to this, dancing integrates physical exercise with music and involves retrieval of complex sequences of steps and movements creating choreographies. METHODS:In this study, we compared 26 non-professional salsa dancers (mean age 55.3 years, age-range 49-70 years) with 20 non-dancers (mean age 57.6 years, age-range 49-70 years) by assessing two variables: their executive functions and spatial memory performance. RESULTS:results showed that dancers scored better that non-dancers in our tests, outperforming controls in executive functions-related tasks. Groups did not differ in spatial memory performance. CONCLUSIONS:This work suggests that dancing can be a valid way of slowing down the natural age-related cognitive decline. A major limitation of this study is the lack of fitness assessment in both groups. In addition, since dancing combines multiple factors like social contact, aerobic exercise, cognitive work with rhythms, and music, it is difficult to determine the weight of each variable.
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Project description:We evaluated the associations between marine recreational fishing, stress, seafood consumption, and sleep quality in a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of a convenience sample of 244 fishers recruited in 2019 in Spain. Fishers' stress levels were moderate, with a mean stress index score of 36.4 units on a scale from 14 (very low stress) to 70 (very high). Their average emotional condition was positive, with a mean index of negative affect of 7.8 units on a scale from 5 (very low negative affect) to 25 (very high). Seafood intake was low, with a mean index of seafood in diets of 38.0 units on a scale from 20 (very low seafood consumption) to 160 (very high). Fishers' perceived quality of night sleep was good because the mean index of sleep problems was 39.5 units on a scale from 21 (very low sleep problems) to 107 (very high). Each hour of self-reported monthly fishing activity was associated with 0.016 units of lower stress score. Thus, the most engaged fishers reported up to 15.4% lower stress score than less avid fishers. Since recreational fishing is a highly accessible outdoor activity for people in older age groups, it is possible that public health could be improved by access to sustainably managed recreational fisheries. Fishing engagement was positively associated with seafood intake. Each hour of fishing per month was associated with one-unit higher seafood consumption. The higher seafood consumption observed among avid recreational fishers compared with less avid fishers might have health implications.
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Project description:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic threatens human beings' livelihoods and mental health, which lowers their well-being and gives rise to anxiety. This study examines whether there is a causal relationship (and, if so, in which direction) between people's well-being and COVID-19 anxiety. Two hundred and twenty-two participants (54.50% female, M age = 31.53, SD = 8.17) from 26 provinces of China completed measures of subjective well-being (SWB) and COVID-19 anxiety at three key nodes of the development of COVID-19 in China. The results showed that people's SWB and COVID-19 anxiety fluctuated with the peak (T1), decline (T2), and trough stages (T3) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the cross-lagged analysis showed that the participants' SWB at T0 (pre-pandemic stage; the base level of SWB) and T1 could significantly predict their COVID-19 anxiety at T1 and T2 respectively. However, SWB at T2 was not associated with the COVID-19 anxiety at T3. Furthermore, COVID-19 anxiety could not predict subsequent SWB from T1 to T3. The current findings contribute to clarifying the causal relationship between well-being and anxiety through the development of epidemics, as well as finding ways to alleviate people's COVID-19 anxiety.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-021-00385-2.
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Project description:It is often assumed that incongruence between individuals' values and those of their country is distressing, but the evidence has been mixed. Across 29 countries, the present research investigated whether well-being is higher if people's values match with those of people living in the same country or region. Using representative samples, we find that person-country and person-region value congruence predict six well-being measures (e.g., emotional well-being, relationship support; N = 54,673). Crucially, however, value type moderates whether person-country fit is positively or negatively associated with well-being. People who value self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism more and live in countries and regions where people on average share these values report lower well-being. In contrast, people who value achievement, power, and security more and live in countries and regions where people on average share these values, report higher well-being. Additionally, we find that people who moderately value stimulation report the highest well-being.
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