The Correlation between Exercise and Happiness with College Students Essay Example

a majority of the participants (Oswald & Wu, 2010).

Introduction

The pursuit of happiness is one of the major concerns to humans and one of the common human desires all through history. Happiness is also one essential principle of life, often seen as a measure of a good and excellent life in every culture around the globe (Seligman, 2011). In the past years, there have been scientific concerns especially in the field of psychology on the different parameters that contribute to happiness with a recent study showing the possibility of a correlation between happiness and exercise or activeness (Stebbins, 2014). Exercise has eventually become an unavoidable and essential component of those people living in modern societies (Wang et.al, 2012).

The psychological natures of exercises make it a significant contributor to people's happiness and quality of lives altogether. Is the happiness produced by exercise temporal or long-lasting? Well, exercise does not only produce temporal joy but also prolongs happiness and satisfaction in life by enhancing one's heath and also impacting some skills on the youth such as communication and cooperation that are important for a happy life (Dogan & Cotok, 2011). Individuals choose to participate in exercise and those who do so are reported to be happier and healthier as past studies indicate. According to various sources, those who engage in sports always do it voluntarily and it becomes their lifestyle (Oswald & Wu, 2010). Therefore this study is guaranteed of a positive correlation between exercise and happiness from the above speculations and findings from prior studies and research in this topic.

Methods

The participants of this study are 1400 students in colleges who regularly engage in exercise and are in

the age bracket of 19 years to 27 years in either public or private institution. The study views this kind of participants as reliable and as having a clear objective on why they engage in exercise frequently as opposed to their colleagues who find it rather a waste of time and somehow a torture to their body. A total of 1500 questionnaires were distributed in five colleges with a convenient sampling technique used to guarantee sufficient representation. This was done with the permission and knowledge of the administration and thus they cooperated to make the study a success. The participants availed themselves in large numbers and with the willingness to participate in the task of filling the questionnaire.

The respondents were gathered in a fair way in that, the different college sports captains in each of the five colleges were given the responsibility to choose those who would participate in answering the questionnaires as per the required number of students needed in this exercise. Age factors were equally distributed i.e., the range between 19 to 27 years was put into consideration during the selection. The participants were briefed on the purpose of the collection of this data and were encouraged to provide accurate and honest answers. There was no necessity to provide names on the questionnaires for confidentiality matters and freedom advancement. The only requirement was to specify their gender as either male or female. Different representatives of the research monitored the students and brought back the feedback for analysis. The study returned a positive response rate of 95%.

The conducting of this study uses at least two validated measures from previous research namely Oxford happiness scale

(OHS) and Pearson’s correlation. To assess the level of happiness for each individual, OHS which contains twenty-nine statements ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used (Dogan & Cotok, 2011). This measure has happiness scores varying from twenty-nine to one hundred and seventy-four whereby higher scores symbolize higher happiness. To determine the intensity and satisfaction of the individual’s happiness, Pearson’s correlation was utilized (Wang et.al, 2012). The selected respondents reacted to items on a 5-poing Likert scale which tapped six aspects of happiness satisfaction i.e. emotional, social, educational, bodily, aesthetic and recreation. The questionnaires are a good method to get a snapshot of the level of participants’ current satisfaction. The measures used in this study are efficient in that they are easy to analyze and understand. A higher final score in OHS questionnaire indicated a higher level of happiness satisfaction (Dogan & Cotok, 2011). A positive correlation (r) in the Pearson’s correlation indicated that exercise score was positively correlated with the happiness score. It was clear that college students who engaged in exercise did not only gain temporary happiness during the activity but that it also reflected on their lives as well. These students were highly recommendable to their peers and were portrayed as easy to live with due to their remarkable joy.

These measures will be administered in a given setting, perhaps in the field, to college students participating in different forms of exercise. Each of the students is required to answer the questions without any consultation whatsoever reason being that this study seeks to obtain knowledge based on the individual level of understanding about the study and the topic. This will make the

scores comparable and different common cases noted which will be of a great help in the final analysis. During the administering of these measures, a good rapport should be enhanced between the respondents and the supervisor so that the environment remains friendly and that there is no tension whatsoever (Oswald & Wu, 2010). Out of the anticipated 1400 students who were to respond to the questionnaire, only ten failed due to some understandable circumstances like sicknesses and absenteeism. However, this did not affect the study as it was anticipated in the early stages of the study- the likelihood of lesser turn up. Another administration was carried out after duration of two weeks to the same participants to test the reliability of the study (Stebbins, 2014). However, they were not notified in advance in order to avoid issues like discussion which would interfere with the results of the final findings. After the administering, the second exercise, the outcomes of both exercises were compared and they were found to be in agreement hence the study was justified as being reliable.

Discussion

The results of this study clearly show a positive correlation between exercise and happiness. The relationship between the two scores high as denoted by the analysis of the respondents answers to the questionnaires. In addition, the final results were piloted to a different group of college students found to be active and the same results were gathered and these acted as representatives of the final group upon which this study is to be used. This study has clearly shown the benefits of one engaging in exercise and has made it clear that exercise is not a waste of

time but rather something we should engage in for our physical health and psychological well-being (Oswald & Wu, 2010). In the long run, those who want to be happy and feel a sense well-being should be encouraged to participate in the exercise. Exercise, as shown in this study, breaks the routine and just as change is normally denoted, exercise is as excellent as rest.

Our study shows that the relationship between exercise and happiness had a significant effect on those who regularly exercised at least thirty or more minutes a day, five or six days a week. This group showed the optimum levels of happiness compared to their counterparts who exercised few days a week. Our findings thus concurred with previous studies that the more one exercised the more they are likely to be happier. People who do exercises have higher levels of self-esteem and happiness (Seligman, 2011). Our study also confirmed the reduced cases of depression among female students who are active compared to their male counterparts as depicted in the analysis of the social aspect in the questionnaire in a question that involved depression. Therefore it can be deduced that increased levels of exercise among college students can help them achieve healthy lifestyle free of depression and diseases as well as enhancing their mental health.

The study has relied on first-hand data from the targeted group, i.e. college students and has reduced bias by monitoring each respondent to avoid conflicting information or inaccurate responses by creating a good rapport with the respondents. This study can be a stepping stone to future research and practices among those willing to be involved. The findings are trustworthy and

present a picture of a well-researched study on the correlation between exercise and happiness (Stebbins, 2014). In the past research on happiness has been on the rise but little attention has been paid in the relationship between exercise and happiness. A large literature exists on the impact of exercise on mental health, temperament and self-opinion and has been regarded an efficient treatment for clinical anxiety and depression. If exercise boosts mental health and alleviates the consequences of depression, then it might also influence happiness.

This study is significant in that it among the first studies to establish a correlation between exercise and individual happiness. However, it is apparent that the results achieved should be strengthened through additional studies too. Based on the outcomes that were revealed by the study, obstacles that were presented as hindrances to the level of happiness during exercise should be dealt with as well (Oswald & Wu, 2010). College students should be involved in seeking guidance and counseling on issues relating to how they can be actively involved in exercise as the majority of them do not see or rather understand the need to do so. It is the duty of the counseling department in each college to take an educative measure to enlighten the students on the need to engage in exercise.

The study has some limitations in that it concerned itself with college students hence the results may not be applicable for other demographics. This draws the need for a research in other populations participating in an exercise in order to establish the validity of the research. As it is evident, the contemporary modern society appreciates exercise so much but it

has not yet fully actualized in matters of participation. This means that as additional studies on this topic continue, people will see the need to be active not only because of the benefits associated with exercise but also as an important part of their life. This will assist in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and will also act as a steering wheel to reducing some complications in our body that are due to lack of exercise.

Conclusion

The rationale of this study was to establish the relationship between exercise and happiness in college students in different colleges. The study has established that the higher score went to the relaxation aspect brought by exercise. There was a remarked level of happiness satisfaction level in regard to gender in that males denoted higher levels of satisfaction generally while females need for happiness satisfaction was largely due to social interaction aspect (Dogan & Cotok, 2011). Consequently, as the exercise frequency increases in college students, levels of happiness also rise. A noteworthy and essential relationship was found among all proportions of emotional aptitude and happiness. To summarize, it would be right to gauge the levels of individual happiness will rise the level of satisfaction of the participants raise through exercise (Oswald & Wu, 2010). The level of happiness to college students is of paramount importance to the society and should be considered seriously. In order to help college students to spend their exercise time more meaningfully, this study offers some suggestions, that the management of different colleges should provide fully equipped centers where exercises can take place and place them in convenient places. Also, factors causing solitude among college students should be

analyzed and psycho-educational workshops developed in effect to tackle this problem (Stebbins, 2014). Generally, exercise is supposed to be undertaken by everyone for their benefit. If you might be wondering why you should be exercising frequently and for what benefit, just dare exercise, the answers to your questions will be answered right away.

References

1. Wang, F., Orpana, H. M., Morrison, H., de Groh, M., Dai, S., & Luo, W. (2012). Long-term association between leisure-time physical activity and changes in happiness: Analysis of the prospective National Population Health Survey. American Journal of Epidemiology, 176(12): 1095-1100.
2. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well- being. New York: Simon & Schuster.
3. Stebbins, R. A. (2014). Leisure, happiness, and positive lifestyle. In S. Elkington, & S. J. Gammon (Eds.). Contemporary perspectives in leisure: Meanings, motives, and lifelong learning. New York: Routledge
4. Dogan, T. & Cotok, N. (2011). Adaptation of the short form of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire into Turkish: A validity and reliability study. Journal of Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance, 4(36), 165-172.
5. Oswald, A. and Wu, S. (2010). Objective confirmation of subjective measures of human well- being: Evidence from the usa. Science, (327):576–78.