
Jacob MeyerIowa State University | ISU · Department of Kinesiology
Jacob Meyer
PhD Kinesiology, Exercise Psychology
About
94
Publications
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Introduction
I am currently an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Iowa State University and Director of the Wellbeing and Exercise Laboratory. My research centers on the influences of exercise and sedentary time on mental wellbeing, with a particular focus on the effects of exercise on depression and the mechanisms involved in the psychological benefits of exercise. I also have growing interests in the psychological effects of sedentary time and the influence of mindfulness on physical activity behavior.
Additional affiliations
August 2017 - present
July 2015 - June 2017
January 2012 - May 2015
Education
January 2012 - May 2015
September 2009 - December 2011
September 2004 - May 2008
Publications
Publications (94)
Background
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and treatments could be more effective. Identifying methods to improve treatment success has the potential to reduce disease burden dramatically. Preparing or “priming” someone to respond more effectively to psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT]) by preceding sessio...
Interventions often fail to achieve long‐term behavioral maintenance. Utilizing motivational and volitional strategies to promote behavioral maintenance factors may improve this. Using a full‐factorial experiment, we tested the effects of three intervention components (focused on intrinsic motivation and identity, exercise preparation habit, and ex...
Aerobic fitness and aerobic exercise are widely accepted as having protective effects on cognitive function and brain health, with less understood regarding muscular fitness and resistance exercise. Strength is beneficially associated with cognitive function, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain understudied and may relate to cere...
Depression is associated with altered cerebrovascular hemodynamics, including lower cerebral blood flow, higher cerebral pulsatility, and greater arterial stiffness. There is evidence that perceived stress may contribute to depressive symptomology, but it is unknown if stress may directly impact cerebrovascular hemodynamics. The purpose of this inv...
Introduction
Little is known about physical activity behaviors among people with SUD. This study aimed to (a) describe self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary (SED) behaviors of adults with SUD initiating treatment (b), determine the potential contributions of drug of choice (DOC) on these behaviors, and (c) determ...
Middle-aged and older adults living in rural settings have been consistently less likely to report regular physical activity (PA) than those living in urban settings. While past literature has identified sociodemographic and environmental correlates of PA that may contribute to these differences, consideration of psychological correlates has been l...
Wearable biosensors promise real-time measurements of chemicals in human sweat, with the potential for dramatic improvements in medical diagnostics and athletic performance through continuous metabolite and electrolyte monitoring. However, sweat sensing is still in its infancy, and questions remain about whether sweat can be used for medical purpos...
Evidence supports the antidepressant effects of resistance exercise training (RET); however, findings among young adults at-risk for elevated depressive symptoms are limited. This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of eight weeks of ecologically-valid, guidelines-based RET, compared to a wait-list control, on depressive symptoms among...
Anxiety is common in people with major depressive disorder (MDD), yet the anxiolytic effects of acute exercise in MDD are unknown. The purpose of this analysis was to determine a potentially optimal acute exercise intensity for reducing state anxiety in women with MDD, the duration of the response, and the potential influences of depression severit...
Objectives:
To examine the theoretical substitutions of screen exposure, non-screen sitting time, moderate and vigorous physical activity with depressive and anxiety symptoms in South American adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design:
A cross-sectional study during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic with data from 1981 adults from Chil...
Objective
Identifying risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI) is necessary for suicide prevention. Associations between self-reported physical activity (PA) and sedentary time and SI in the general population have been found. The current study examines these associations in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) using objective measures of PA...
Depression (DEP) is prevalent and current treatments are ineffective for many people. This pilot study's purpose was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and plausible efficacy of an 8-week intervention employing 30 min of prescribed moderate intensity exercise (“ActiveCBT”) compared to 30 min of usual activities (“CalmCBT”) immediately prior...
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed major changes on daily-life routine worldwide. To the best of our knowledge, no study quantified the changes on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviors (SB) and its correlates in Brazilians. This study aimed to (i) evaluate the changes (pre versus during pandemic) in time spent...
Background
Acute exercise generally improves mood state and cognitive functioning in healthy adults. However, the impact of acute exercise on primary symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) is poorly understood. The present randomized cross-over study evaluated the magnitude, timing, and duration of the psychological effects of 30 m...
Introduction
Behavioral treatments, like increasing physical activity (PA), are recommended for chronic low back pain (CLBP). Finding methods for promoting behavior change with potential for translatability as well as effective behavioral targets remains challenging.
Purpose
This randomized controlled pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of low...
Background: Understanding the direction and magnitude of mental health-loneliness associations across time is important to understand how best to prevent and treat mental health and loneliness. This study used weekly data collected over 8 weeks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to expand previous findings and using dynamic panel models with fixed ef...
Objectives:
To assess alcohol use and perceived change in alcohol consumption (before and during the pandemic) in Brazilians during the COVID-19 pandemic, its correlates, and association with depressive, anxiety and co-occurring depressive and anxiety symptoms (D&A).
Methods:
This is a cross-sectional study comprising 992 individuals in self-iso...
The COVID-19 pandemic has elicited increased sedentary behaviors, decreased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and worsened mental health, yet the longitudinal impact of these changes and their inter-relations remains unknown. Our purpose was to examine associations between changes in self-reported activity behaviors and mental health o...
Background
: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the effect of physical activity (PA) on the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and major depressive disorder (MDD) in African Americans.
Methods
: 645 African Americans (mean age 45 years) were interviewed on their perceived racial discrimination, PA, and past...
The worldwide prevalence of insufficient physical activity (PA) and prolonged sedentary behavior (SB) were high before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Measures that were taken by governments (such as home confinement) to control the spread of COVID-19 may have affected levels of PA and SB. This cross-sectional study among South American adults...
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Objectives: To examine associations of changing employment conditions, specifically switching to working from home (WFH) or job loss, with mental health, using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Data from 2,301 US adults in employment prior to COVID-19 were collected April 3rd−7th, 2020. Participants reported whether their employ...
Background
The aim was to examine the correlates of increased alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions that were implemented in a sample of UK adults.
Methods
This paper presents analyses of data from a cross-sectional study. Adults aged 18 years and over, residing in the UK and self-isolating from others outside their...
Background
Transdisciplinary translational science applies interdisciplinary approaches to the generation of novel concepts, theories and methods involving collaborations among academic and non-academic partners, in order to advance the translation of science into broader community practice.
Objective
This paper introduces a special issue on trans...
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated pandemic has resulted in systemic changes to much of life, affecting both physical and mental health. Time spent outside is associated with positive mental health; however, opportunities to be outside were likely affected by the COVID-19 public health restrictions that encouraged people n...
Background
Sedentary time (SED) is associated with many detrimental health outcomes, yet little is known about what factors influence one’s ability to reduce SED. Even less is known about these factors in specific patient populations for whom high levels of SED may influence symptoms, such as those with chronic low back pain (cLBP). The purpose of...
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered much of US life with shifts to working-from-home and social distancing changing day-to-day behavior. We aimed to determine the self-reported prevalence of meeting US physical activity guidelines, stratified by sitting time during the early lockdown phase of COVID-19 in US adults. We conducted two cross-se...
Objectives: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, major changes to how, or even whether, we work have occurred. This study examines associations of changing COVID-19-related employment conditions with physical activity and sedentary behavior.
Methods: Data from 2,303 US adults in employment prior to COVID-19 were collected April 3rd−7th, 2020. Participants...
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The COVID-19 pandemic altered many facets of life. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19-related public health guidelines on physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, mental health, and their interrelations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 3052 US adults 3-8 April 2020 (from all 50 states). Participants self-reported pre-and post-C...
This is a cross-sectional study evaluating the associations of self-reported moderate to vigorous physical activity, and sedentary behavior with depressive, anxiety, and co-occurring depressive and anxiety symptoms (D&A) in self-isolating Brazilians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were collected using the Beck Depressi...
Background: The self-distancing measures imposed major changes in daily life routine.
This study aimed to (i) evaluate the changes (pre-versus during pandemic) in time spent
in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in selfisolating
Brazilians during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (ii) to explore correlates of
MVPA an...
Objective To investigate the levels and correlates of physical activity during COVID-19 social distancing in a sample of the UK public.
Methods This paper presents analyses of data from a cross-sectional study. Levels of physical activity during COVID-19 social distancing were self-reported. Participants also reported on sociodemographic and clinic...
This project evaluated the impact of COVID-19-related public health restrictions on physical activity, sedentary time, mental health, and their interrelations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 3,052 US adults on April 3rd-7th, 2020. Physical activity, sitting, and screen time, both pre- and post-COVID-19-related restrictions, along with cur...
Introduction
Sedentary time is inversely associated with health. Capturing 24 hours of behavior (i.e., sleep, sedentary, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) is necessary to understand behavior–health associations.
Methods
Healthy young adults aged 20–35 years (n=423) completed the Profile of Mood States, the Percei...
Background
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with chronic inflammation. Exercise training can treat depression in adults with MDD, potentially through reducing inflammatory activity. This improvement may occur through adaptations to repeated acute inflammatory responses. Cytokine responses to acute steady-state exercise of varying inten...
Purpose:
To evaluate the independent and combined associations of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscular strength (MS) with arterial stiffness (AS), a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease, in older adults.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study included 405 older adults (mean age 72 years). CRF was assessed by time (seconds) to complete...
Objectives
Health-supporting behaviors can be challenging to initiate and maintain. Data from the MEPARI-2 randomized trial were used to assess predictors of sustained exercise and meditation practice.
Methods
Adults aged 30 to 69 years not exercising regularly and without prior meditation training were randomized to 8-week trainings in mindfulnes...
Background:
Prospective cohorts have suggested that physical activity (PA) can decrease the risk of incident anxiety. However, no meta-analysis has been conducted.
Aims:
To examine the prospective relationship between PA and incident anxiety and explore potential moderators.
Methods:
Searches were conducted on major databases from inception to...
Exercise and meditation improve health and well-being, potentially through decreasing systemic inflammation. In this study, healthy adults (N = 413) were randomized to 8 weeks of training in aerobic exercise, matched mindfulness-based stress reduction, or wait-list control. Three inflammation-related biomarkers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, a...
The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and is responsive to acute exercise in healthy adults.
Purpose:
We aimed to describe acute changes in serum eCB across a prescribed moderate (MOD) and a self-selected/preferred (PREF) intensity exercise session in women with major depressive disorder (MDD) and det...
Excessive sedentary time is related to poor mental health. However, much of the current literature uses cross-sectional data and/or self-reported sedentary time, and does not assess factors such as sedentary bout length. To address these limitations, the influence of objectively measured sedentary time including sedentary bout length (i.e. <30 min,...
Importance
The physical benefits of resistance exercise training (RET) are well documented, but less is known regarding the association of RET with mental health outcomes. To date, no quantitative synthesis of the antidepressant effects of RET has been conducted.
Objectives
To estimate the association of efficacy of RET with depressive symptoms an...
Purpose:
Compare 8-weeks of MBSR, AET and no-treatment control during the fall season on objectively-measured physical activity in healthy adults.
Methods:
Participants (n=66) wore an Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer for seven days pre-randomization, and following 8-week MBSR or AET interventions, or neither (control). Mean daily minutes (min) of m...
Purpose:
Sedentary behavior has been identified as a major health risk. While interventions to reduce time spent sedentary have become increasingly prevalent, the vast majority of this work in adults has been focused on workplace sedentary behavior, and often pairs sedentary reduction interventions with increasing physical activity. As research de...
Background: Consensus for an operational definition of post-exertion malaise (PEM) and which symptoms best characterize PEM has not been established and may be due to variability within and between studies.
Purpose: Determine the magnitude of the effect of maximal and submaximal physical exertion on multiple myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigu...
Introduction
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been shown to be related to brain health in older adults. In individuals at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), CRF may be a modifiable risk factor that could attenuate anticipated declines in brain volume and episodic memory. The objective of this study was to determine the association bet...
Post exertion malaise is one of the most debilitating aspects of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, yet the neurobiological consequences are largely unexplored. The objective of the study was to determine the neural consequences of acute exercise using functional brain imaging. Fifteen female Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fati...