About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about what exercise is and what its benefits can be, focusing in particular on: (i) the importance of exercise psychology, based around the potential health and economic damage brought about by general inactivity in the population; (ii) understanding exercise as structured, repetitive movements, rather than simply being active; (iii) the adaptive nature of humans to be more active than the typical population are today; (iv) the role that serotonin and dopamine play in the positive mental health benefits of exercise; (v) some of the health conditions that regular exercise can help prevent.

About the lecturer

Dr Anthony Miller is a lecturer in the School of Health, Science and Wellbeing at Staffordshire University. Dr Miller’s research interests are in understanding human performance and wellbeing under pressure, with a particular focus on the social identity approach to leadership. Some of Dr Miller’s recent publications include 'Psychological distress across sport participation groups: The mediating effects of secondary irrational beliefs on the relationship between primary irrational beliefs and symptoms of anxiety, and depression' (2019) and 'Test-retest reliability of the irrational performance beliefs inventory' (2018).