AUTHOR=Qian Junwei , Tong Jiajin , Xu Ruiheng 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.883801

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.883801

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>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 <italic>via</italic> somatic and worry complaints, depending on the amount of physical exercise. A sample of working adults in Beijing (<italic>N</italic> = 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 (<italic>index</italic> = −0.11, 95% CI [−0.22, −0.01]), rather than psychological worry complaints (<italic>index</italic> = −0.01, 95% <italic>CI</italic> [−0.07, 0.04]). Specifically, the COVID-19 stressors increase somatic complaints for people with a low amount of physical exercise (<italic>b</italic> = 0.17, <italic>p</italic> = 0.01]), while the COVID-19 stressors are not significantly related to somatic complaints for people with a high amount of physical exercise (<italic>b</italic> = −0.06, <italic>p</italic> = 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.</p>