Motivation states to move, be physically active and sedentary vary like circadian rhythms and are associated with affect and arousal.

Introduction: Motivation to be physically active and sedentary is a transient state that varies in response to previous behavior. It is not known: (a) if motivational states vary from morning to evening, (b) if they are related to feeling states (arousal/hedonic tone), and (c) whether they predict current behavior and intentions. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if motivation states vary across the day and in what pattern. Thirty adults from the United States were recruited from Amazon MTurk.

Methods: Participants completed 6 identical online surveys each day for 8 days beginning after waking and every 2-3 h thereafter until bedtime. Participants completed: (a) the CRAVE scale (Right now version) to measure motivation states for Move and Rest, (b) Feeling Scale, (c) Felt Arousal Scale, and (d) surveys about current movement behavior (e.g., currently sitting, standing, laying down) and intentions for exercise and sleep. Of these, 21 participants (mean age 37.7 y; 52.4% female) had complete and valid data.

Results: Visual inspection of data determined that: a) motivation states varied widely across the day, and b) most participants had a single wave cycle each day. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that there were significant linear and quadratic time trends for both Move and Rest. Move peaked near 1500 h when Rest was at its nadir. Cosinor analysis determined that the functional waveform was circadian for Move for 81% of participants and 62% for Rest. Pleasure/displeasure and arousal independently predicted motivation states (all 's < .001), but arousal had an association twice as large. Eating, exercise and sleep behaviors, especially those over 2 h before assessment, predicted current motivation states. Move-motivation predicted current body position (e.g., laying down, sitting, walking) and intentions for exercise and sleep more consistently than rest, with the strongest prediction of behaviors planned for the next 30 min.

Discussion: While these data must be replicated with a larger sample, results suggest that motivation states to be active or sedentary have a circadian waveform for most people and influence future behavioral intentions. These novel results highlight the need to rethink the traditional approaches typically utilized to increase physical activity levels.