As society ages, the ability to maintain our physical and mental wellbeing as we age is increasingly important.  A new study, from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, highlights the important role mental wellbeing plays in our physical activity levels.  It finds that middle-aged men and women with strong mental wellbeing were much more likely to be physically active as they enter old age than their peers with low mental wellbeing in middle age.

The research assessed mental wellbeing through emotional, psychological and social dimensions.  Emotional wellbeing refers to our general life satisfaction and tendency to have positive feelings, whilst psychological wellbeing refers more to our purpose and growth in life.  Social wellbeing, by contrast, refers to the relationships we have with others in our community.

The analysis revealed that physical activity was no real predictor of one’s mental health later in life, or indeed one’s subjective health, but one’s mental health certainly was.  The authors suggest that mental health is vital to maintaining an active lifestyle during this crucial midlife phase.

Gender differences

The research did reveal some interesting gender differences, especially in the kind of activities people do.  For instance, walking was strongly linked to emotional wellbeing, whilst rambling had more social benefits.

“Although exercise did not predict later mental well-being or subjective health in this study, exercise is important for current mental well-being and health,” the researchers explain.

The association was common among both men and women, but interestingly, rambling only tended to boost the emotional and subjective health of men rather than women.

“It is possible that rambling in nature means different things for men and women. For example, it correlated with the frequency of vigorous exercise only among men,” the researchers suggest.

Suffice to say, the findings are by no means exhaustive, but as society ages it’s vital that we better understand how people can age as healthily as possible, and the insights from this study go some way to helping us gain that understanding.