Can Physical Exercise Help Deal With the COVID-19 Stressors? Comparing Somatic and Psychological Responses

Abstract

This research aims to explore whether physical exercise can buffer the impact of the COVID-19 stressors. Based on the cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis, we proposed a moderated mediation model relating the COVID-19 stressors to sleep disorder via somatic and worry complaints, depending on the amount of physical exercise. A sample of working adults in Beijing (N = 207) filled surveys in two waves during the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural regression analysis showed that physical exercise moderates the impact of the COVID-19 stressors on sleep disorder via somatic complaints (index = -0.11, 95% CI [-0.22, -0.01]), rather than psychological worry complaints (index = -0.01, 95% CI [-0.07, 0.04]). Specifically, the COVID-19 stressors increase somatic complaints for people with a low amount of physical exercise (b = 0.17, p = 0.01]), while the COVID-19 stressors are not significantly related to somatic complaints for people with a high amount of physical exercise (b = -0.06, p = 0.33). This research extends the cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis and provides evidence on an individual intervention of physical exercise to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 stressors; cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis; physical exercise; sleep disorder; somatic complaints; worry complaints.

FIGURE 1

Proposed moderated mediation model. Dotted arrows represent the effects that were included in our hypothesis but turned out not significant in the analysis. ^∗p < 0.05. ^∗∗∗p < 0.001.

FIGURE 2

Interaction effect of the COVID-19 stressors and physical exercise on somatic complaints.