Acute Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Performance

Abstract

Record ID: 332

Award(s): Excellence in Research Communication

Program Affiliation: Capstone

Presentation Type: Poster

Abstract: Physical activity has been shown to boost cognitive performance by increasing neural activity. Previous studies in the literature have shown strong agreement in the benefits of pre-performance exercise, but the superior exercise type (e.g., anaerobic, aerobic, other) remains uncertain. The purpose of our study was to identify which exercise type had the largest impact on a Stroop test, designed to simulate a recall-type exam students may take in class. Twenty-two healthy individuals ages 18-25 completed the study. Conditions consisted of a baseline test where no exercise was completed prior to the Stroop test and then three additional timed test sessions where aerobic, anaerobic, or meditation exercises were completed, with the order of the three exercise sessions randomized. Aerobic exercise involved cycling on a stationary bike at 13 mpg with 1kg of resistance. Anaerobic exercise consisted of three sets of body-weight exercises (wall sits, planks, isometric hold with TheraBand). A video-based guided meditation was watched for the meditation session. The exercises were followed by the completion of the Stroop test where total attempts and correct attempts were recorded. After all three sessions, participants rated which type of pre-test exercise helped increase Stroop test performance the most. We hypothesized that pre-test anaerobic exercise would yield the highest Stroop test scores, but that all three pre-test exercise activities will yield higher scores than the baseline Stroop performance. These outcomes may help identify how short, single bouts of exercise can increase performance in cognitive-type tests, a strategy students could utilize to increase academic performance.