Background:There is growing evidence that an acute bout of exercise positively influences executive function(EF).However,the existing evidence primarily originates from laboratory-based studies,and only a limited numb...Background:There is growing evidence that an acute bout of exercise positively influences executive function(EF).However,the existing evidence primarily originates from laboratory-based studies,and only a limited number of studies have extended this work to real-world classroom settings.Accordingly,in the present study,we aimed to employ a real classroom setting to determine whether acute exercise-induced effects on EF emerged.Methods:All 49 students who enrolled in a real-world course agreed to participate in the experimental protocol and the final sample was composed of 43 individuals(13 male and 30 female participants).Participants were asked to perform an acute bout of exercise(i.e,10 min at moderate intensity)before a real classroom,and on a separate day,complete a non-exercise control condition.EF was assessed via Naming,Inhibition,and Switching variants of the Stroop task.We used a paired-samples t-test to compare participants’cognitive load between two conditions and a repeated-measures ANOVA to investigate changes in RPE.What’s more,a repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine potential pre-to post-class changes in EF-related parameters(e.g.,inverse efficiency scores,reaction times,and error rates).Results:A pre-to post-class benefit in performance efficiency across all Stroop task variants was shown.In both exercise and control conditions,there was a significant main effect of time,with lower inverse efficiency scores(IES)(p=0.003)and shorter reaction times(RT)(p<0.001)observed from pre-to post-class.Moreover,performance gains varied by Stroop task-type,with the Switching task showing the longest RTs and largest IES,reflecting its greater cognitive demands.Importantly,a marginally significant three-way interaction among task-type,intervention,and time(p=0.052)indicated that the exercise intervention enhanced post-class performance on the Switching task.Post-hoc analyses revealed significantly lower IES and faster RTs at post-class for both the Naming and Switching tasks,particularly in the exercise group(e.g.,Switching IES:p<0.001;Switching RT:p<0.001).Conclusions:These findings suggest that pre-class acute exercise enhances EF and provides a benefit to cognitive flexibility.Accordingly,our results extend previous knowledge by indicating that the cognitive benefits of acute exercise observed primarily in laboratory settings can be translated to real-world educational contexts.展开更多
基金supported by the Shenzhen Educational Research Funding(grant number zdzb2014)Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission(grant number 202307313000096)+3 种基金Social Science Foundation from China’s Ministry of Education(grant number 23YJA880093)Post-doctoral Fellowship(grant number 2022M711174)National Center for Mental Health(grant number Z014)Research Excellence Scholarships of Shenzhen University(grant number ZYZD2305).
文摘Background:There is growing evidence that an acute bout of exercise positively influences executive function(EF).However,the existing evidence primarily originates from laboratory-based studies,and only a limited number of studies have extended this work to real-world classroom settings.Accordingly,in the present study,we aimed to employ a real classroom setting to determine whether acute exercise-induced effects on EF emerged.Methods:All 49 students who enrolled in a real-world course agreed to participate in the experimental protocol and the final sample was composed of 43 individuals(13 male and 30 female participants).Participants were asked to perform an acute bout of exercise(i.e,10 min at moderate intensity)before a real classroom,and on a separate day,complete a non-exercise control condition.EF was assessed via Naming,Inhibition,and Switching variants of the Stroop task.We used a paired-samples t-test to compare participants’cognitive load between two conditions and a repeated-measures ANOVA to investigate changes in RPE.What’s more,a repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine potential pre-to post-class changes in EF-related parameters(e.g.,inverse efficiency scores,reaction times,and error rates).Results:A pre-to post-class benefit in performance efficiency across all Stroop task variants was shown.In both exercise and control conditions,there was a significant main effect of time,with lower inverse efficiency scores(IES)(p=0.003)and shorter reaction times(RT)(p<0.001)observed from pre-to post-class.Moreover,performance gains varied by Stroop task-type,with the Switching task showing the longest RTs and largest IES,reflecting its greater cognitive demands.Importantly,a marginally significant three-way interaction among task-type,intervention,and time(p=0.052)indicated that the exercise intervention enhanced post-class performance on the Switching task.Post-hoc analyses revealed significantly lower IES and faster RTs at post-class for both the Naming and Switching tasks,particularly in the exercise group(e.g.,Switching IES:p<0.001;Switching RT:p<0.001).Conclusions:These findings suggest that pre-class acute exercise enhances EF and provides a benefit to cognitive flexibility.Accordingly,our results extend previous knowledge by indicating that the cognitive benefits of acute exercise observed primarily in laboratory settings can be translated to real-world educational contexts.
