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Review
. 2021 Oct 20:12:759987.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759987. eCollection 2021.

Mental Health and the Role of Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xianfeng Ai  1 , Jingjing Yang  2 , Zhibin Lin  3 , Xiaohong Wan  4
Affiliations
Review

Mental Health and the Role of Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xianfeng Ai et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related public health restrictions are having an increasingly serious impact on mental health, and measures need to be taken to curb this trend. The positive relationship between physical exercise and mental health has been well-established, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, with various restrictions, the space and facilities for physical exercise are limited. This article explores the relationship between physical exercise and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the latest research findings published in 2019-2021. We offer a novel model that consists of three central arguments. First, physical exercises during COVID-19, especially supervised exercises, are conducive to enhancing happiness and improving mental health. Second, physical exercise reduces people's anxiety, sadness and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, the maintenance and improvement of mental health are related to the intensity and frequency of physical exercise. Intensive and frequent physical exercise are conducive to maintaining mental health. Finally, this article proposes important directions for future research.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; coping behavior; integrated framework; mental health; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Integrated conceptual framework.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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