A new study from UCL reveals the connection between personality traits and exercise preferences, highlighting how aligning personal traits with physical activity can enhance engagement and fitness levels.
A new study from University College London (UCL) reveals that personality traits can be key to understanding which types of exercise individuals are likely to enjoy and stick with over the long term.
Published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, this research found significant correlations between personality types and exercise preferences, potentially paving the way for more tailored and effective fitness recommendations.
Exploring the Connection Between Personality and Exercise
Previous studies have shown that people with different personality traits tend to prefer different types of organized sports.
However, the UCL study delves deeper, assessing how these traits affect the enjoyment of exercise, adherence to a fitness regimen, and improvements in fitness levels.
“We know that the global population is becoming increasingly sedentary. You often hear about people trying to become more active, but struggling to make lasting changes,” first author Flaminia Ronca, from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH), said in a news release. “We found some clear links between personality traits and the type of exercise the participants enjoyed most, which I think is important because we could potentially use this knowledge to tailor physical activity recommendations to the individual — and hopefully help them to become and remain more active.”
Methodology and Findings
The study involved 132 volunteers of various fitness levels and backgrounds, split into two groups: an intervention group that underwent an eight-week cycling and strength training program, and a control group that rested.
The participants underwent a series of baseline fitness assessments, including strength tests and aerobic capacity evaluations.
They were also evaluated for stress levels and personality traits using the Big 5 model, a common personality test that uses five distinct factors: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Several noteworthy correlations emerged from the study:
- Extroverts enjoyed high-intensity workouts, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
- Neurotic individuals, who are prone to worrying, preferred short bursts of intense activity over prolonged exertion and favored workouts that allowed for privacy and independence.
- Conscientious participants demonstrated a balanced fitness level but did not show a marked preference for any specific exercise, possibly due to being more motivated by the health benefits than the enjoyment of the activity itself.
Stress Reduction Benefits
One of the remarkable outcomes of the study was the reduction in stress levels among individuals with high neuroticism.
“We found that people who scored more highly in the neuroticism personality trait showed a particularly strong reduction in stress when they undertook the fitness training recommended in the study,” added co-author Paul Burgess from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. “This suggests that there may be particular benefits in stress reduction for those with this trait.”
Implications and Future Directions
The results provide compelling evidence that understanding personality traits can help develop more personalized and effective fitness interventions.
By aligning exercise types with personality traits, individuals may find it easier to maintain an active lifestyle, thus combating the global trend toward sedentary living. This tailored approach could be crucial in promoting long-term physical activity and improving overall public health.
The study underscores the importance of finding enjoyable forms of exercise to ensure consistency and effectiveness in any fitness regime.
Source: University College London