著者
矢野 康介 木村 駿介 大石 和男
出版者
一般社団法人 日本体育学会
雑誌
体育学研究 (ISSN:04846710)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.62, no.2, pp.587-598, 2017 (Released:2017-12-19)
参考文献数
37
被引用文献数
1 2

Previous studies have shown that a high level of sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) could be a risk factor for mental health. Many studies have reported that daily exercise helps to retain and/or improve mental health. This study examined the relationship between the level of daily exercise and SPS among university students. The participants were 292 university students (143 males and 149 females) ranging in age from 18 to 23 years (19.4±1.1 years). They were asked to complete a questionnaire that included the following items: 1) the frequency of exercise (days per week), 2) the number of years of successive daily exercise, 3) the sporting events in which they currently participate, and 4) the Japanese version of the 19-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-J19) including 3 sub-scales, i.e., low sensory threshold (LST), ease of excitation (EOE), and aesthetic sensitivity (AES). The participants were categorized into a) high, b) medium, and c) low frequency groups, or a) short, b) middle, and c) long term groups individually, based on their levels of participation. Additionally, they were categorized into a) individual, b) team and high-frequency physical contact (HC), and c) team and low-frequency physical contact (LC) exercise groups based on their exercise habits. The high frequency and long-term groups showed lower scores of the HSPS-J19 and its sub-scales of LST, EOE, and AES than the other groups. No significant differences were found among the groups with regard to sports currently played in the scores of the HSPS-J19 and its sub-scales, i.e., LST and EOE. Only AES scores in the LC groups were higher than those in the HC groups. These results suggest that the appearance of SPS was moderated as a result of high-frequency and/or the long-term daily exercise due to habituation to strong stimuli.
著者
遠藤 伸太郎 矢野 康介 大石 和男
出版者
一般社団法人 日本体育・スポーツ・健康学会
雑誌
体育学研究 (ISSN:04846710)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.67, pp.657-672, 2022 (Released:2022-08-17)
参考文献数
48
被引用文献数
1

Restrictions on going out due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have caused various psychological problems in many Japanese elementary school students, such as stress, anxiety, fear, helplessness, and anger. In this context, promotion of nature experience activities has been advocated, and have been reported to improve mental health. In addition, since a decrease in daily physical activity/exercise level is reportedly associated with a deterioration in mental health, the level of physical activity/exercise should be taken into account when evaluating the effects of nature experience activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal effects of nature experience activities on the mental health of elementary school children during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into consideration the daily level of physical activity/exercise. The participants were 130 fifth and sixth grade elementary school students (60 boys and 70 girls). The survey was conducted at 3 time points: just before the nature experience (pre-survey), just after the experience (post-survey), and 1 month after the experience (follow-up survey). Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed: 1) the degree of anxiety and limitation of activities related to COVID-19, 2) daily exercise level (hours), 3) social support level, 4) mental health level, 5) content of experiences in nature experience activities, 6) stress level. The participants were divided into high- and low-exercise groups according to their median scores. In the high-physical activity group, the pre-survey anger score (a component of mental health) was significantly higher than the scores for the post- and follow-up surveys. In addition, the self-confidence score (a component of mental health) for the postand follow-up surveys were significantly increased from the pre-measurement score, regardless of exercise hours. Therefore, it was shown that nature experience activities, while considering the influence of daily exercise, may be important for retaining calmness and confidence in daily life, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was no significant relationship between mental health and the content of nature experience activities. Therefore, it will be necessary to examine such content, which is closely connected with improvement in mental health.