Cargando…

Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions

One impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns was a restriction on people's ability to engage in physical activity in previously routine ways. This paper presents a two-stage mixed-method study exploring how people used technology to stay physically active during this period. We found that activity trac...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Newbold, Joseph W., Rudnicka, Anna, Cox, Anna
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8581159/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34778870
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2021.753115
_version_ 1784596744030388224
author Newbold, Joseph W.
Rudnicka, Anna
Cox, Anna
author_facet Newbold, Joseph W.
Rudnicka, Anna
Cox, Anna
author_sort Newbold, Joseph W.
collection PubMed
description One impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns was a restriction on people's ability to engage in physical activity in previously routine ways. This paper presents a two-stage mixed-method study exploring how people used technology to stay physically active during this period. We found that activity trackers reminded people to be active, while virtual coaching (i.e., video tutorials and online classes) helped them stay connected. The lockdown increased people's awareness of their activity levels and removed barriers to exercise, for example by giving them greater control over their time. However, it also created new challenges, with lack of time and space, injuries due to sudden changes in activity, and anxiety around lockdown, putting limits on physical activity. We highlight future directions that must be addressed to maximise the benefits of physical activity technologies for people trying to stay active during major life disruptions.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8581159
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-85811592021-11-12 Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions Newbold, Joseph W. Rudnicka, Anna Cox, Anna Front Digit Health Digital Health One impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns was a restriction on people's ability to engage in physical activity in previously routine ways. This paper presents a two-stage mixed-method study exploring how people used technology to stay physically active during this period. We found that activity trackers reminded people to be active, while virtual coaching (i.e., video tutorials and online classes) helped them stay connected. The lockdown increased people's awareness of their activity levels and removed barriers to exercise, for example by giving them greater control over their time. However, it also created new challenges, with lack of time and space, injuries due to sudden changes in activity, and anxiety around lockdown, putting limits on physical activity. We highlight future directions that must be addressed to maximise the benefits of physical activity technologies for people trying to stay active during major life disruptions. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-10-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8581159/ /pubmed/34778870 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2021.753115 Text en Copyright © 2021 Newbold, Rudnicka and Cox. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Digital Health
Newbold, Joseph W.
Rudnicka, Anna
Cox, Anna
Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions
title Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions
title_full Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions
title_fullStr Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions
title_full_unstemmed Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions
title_short Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions
title_sort staying active while staying home: the use of physical activity technologies during life disruptions
topic Digital Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8581159/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34778870
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2021.753115
work_keys_str_mv AT newboldjosephw stayingactivewhilestayinghometheuseofphysicalactivitytechnologiesduringlifedisruptions
AT rudnickaanna stayingactivewhilestayinghometheuseofphysicalactivitytechnologiesduringlifedisruptions
AT coxanna stayingactivewhilestayinghometheuseofphysicalactivitytechnologiesduringlifedisruptions