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Table 2 Explanatory approaches in sport science

From: Subjective well-being and exercise in the second half of life: a critical review of theoretical approaches

 

Increase in well-being through…

Further reading

Neurophysiological explanations

  Cardiovascular fitness

improved physical fitness

Biddle and Ekkekakis [10]

  Thermogenic hypothesis

raised body temperature

Koltyn [52]

  Improvement in cerebral blood flow

increased cerebral blood flow leading to increased oxygen transport

Rogers, Meyer, and Mortel [53]

  Endorphin hypothesis

increased release of endorphins

Hoffmann [54]

  Endocannabinoid hypothesis

increased endocannabinoid release

Sparling et al. [55]

  Monoamine hypotheses

a change in the specific neurotransmitter systems

Chaouloff [56]

   Central serotonin

Dishman [57]

   Catecholamines (esp. noradrenaline)

 

  Transient hypofrontality hypothesis

reduced neural activity in the prefrontal cortex (thereby reducing conscious cognitive processes)

Dietrich [58]

  Cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis

repeated and sufficiently intensive and long-lasting stressors that lead to nonspecific adaptations of the stress reaction; the reduction in stress reactivity can be transferred to other non-exercise-related stressors

Sothmann [59]

(Social) psychological explanations

  Distraction hypothesis (“time out”)

distraction from problems and stress

Bahrke and Morgan [60]

  Self-efficacy theory/Mastery hypothesis

the acquisition of subjective ability appraisals

Bandura [61]

  Meditative consciousness states (flow experience)

the fit between skill and challenge level

Csikszentmihalyi [62]

  “Exercise and self-esteem” model

increased self-esteema through changes in physical self-efficacy that exert a positive influence on the two components of self-esteem “physical competence” and “physical acceptance” on a more global level

Sonstroem and Morgan [63]

  Social support

experiencing social support and an accompanying increase in self-efficacy

Fox [4]

Mixed approaches

  “Dual-mode” model

the existence of two mechanisms (cognitive processes and the perception of interoceptive information due to physiological changes); depending on the intensity of exercise, these two mechanisms vary in the strength of their (positive or negative) influence

Ekkekakis [64]

  Two-dimensional activation model

an intensive increase in the energetic arousal level accompanied by a simultaneous decline in emotion-related tension arousal

Thayer [65]

  1. aIt is assumed here that the gain in self-esteem through exercise triggers a general “feel better” effect, thereby leading to improved well-being [9]