Abstract
Evidence highlights that even an acute bout of exercise can contribute to reductions in cravings and withdrawal symptoms (Roberts et al., 2012). Given the impact of exercise engagement on smoking behaviour, imaging oneself engaging in exercise (i.e., exercise imagery) may also reduce smoking dependency. As such, the purpose of the current study was to determine if exercise imagery could contribute to reductions in cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms after a short period of abstinence (15 hours; CO≤6ppm) compared to an acute bout of exercise and control. Males (n=12) and females (n=17) who regularly smoke (12.4 cigarettes/day) were randomized into one of three treatment groups: exercise imagery, acute exercise, or control and completed a variety of questionnaires including the Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (West & Hajek, 2004) pre- and post-treatment. A 3 (Group) X 2 (Time) mixed-design ANOVAs indicated a significant effect for withdrawal symptoms over time (partial eta squared=.56) in all three conditions. Follow-up examination of change scores indicated the exercise group reported significant differences on tension. Analysis of craving scores indicated a significant effect (partial eta squared=.43) for time only. Examination of the change scores for craving highlights exercise imagery may be useful in reducing abstinence symptoms when exercise is not feasible. However, these findings further support that actual exercise behaviour provides more effective benefits for some withdrawal symptoms than merely imagining exercise activity.
