Affective benefits of cheerleading, spinning and karate: a comparative field study

This study investigated how affective states change before, immediately after, and 60 minutes following participation in cheerleading, spinning, and karate, representing interactive, co-active, and hybrid exercise modalities. Fifty-nine athletes completed validated measures of affective valence, arousal, and positive and negative affect at all three time points during their regular training sessions. Using linear mixed-effects models, the analysis revealed consistent increases in positive affect, feeling state, and arousal immediately after exercise, alongside decreases in negative affect, regardless of sport type. One hour later, most affective responses returned to baseline levels, although feeling state remained slightly elevated. No significant differences emerged across the three modalities, indicating that the short-term emotional benefits of exercise are robust and largely independent of social interaction structure. Overall, the results suggest that common psychophysiological processes, rather than modality-specific features, primarily drive acute improvements in affect during and after exercise.