The effect of regular exercise on depression, happiness, mental well-being and life satisfaction

THE EFFECT OF REGULAR EXERCISE ON DEPRESSION, HAPPINESS, MENTAL WELL-BEING AND LIFE SATISFACTION This study was conducted to examine the effect of regular exercise on depression, happiness, mental well-being, and life satisfaction. Participants consisted of volunteers living in Balıkesir. This experimental study was planned as 15 individuals in the experimental group and 15 individuals in the control group participating in the pre-test and post-test application. No sample selection was made and a power analysis was performed for sampling adequacy. Following the necessary permission and consent, the study was completed between November 2023 and January 2023. The data were collected using a personal information form, the "Mental Well-Being Scale Short Form", "Depression and Happiness Scale Short Form", and "Life Satisfaction Scale". After the pre-test was administered to all participants, the experimental group exercised for an average of one hour twice a week for 8 weeks with the functional training method. At the end of the study, the post-test was administered. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 25 program. In the analysis, normality assumptions of the data were checked by examining skewness and kurtosis values. The repeated measures analysis of variance and significance levels were accepted as p<0.05. The time-dependent percentage differences were also calculated. According to the results, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between those who exercised regularly and those who did not in terms of depression, mental well-being, and life satisfaction. In line with these results, it was concluded that regular exercise has a positive effect on the lives of people. Keywords: Depression, exercise, mental well-being, happiness, life satisfaction.