Coordinated and Aerobic Exercise do not Improve Attention in Graduate Students

Abstract

Acute coordinative exercise, represented by various sports skills requiring bilateral use of hands or feet, has been shown to improve attention in school age children in a classroom setting. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if acute aerobic and coordinative exercise improves attention in graduate students in the same setting. Twentyeight students (19 Women, 9 men; Age=24±1 years; BMI=22.9±0.6) enrolled in a graduate education program completed 3 sessions, each separated by 7 d. Immediately before a 1 h classroom lecture, subjects completed either 15 m of quiet sitting, aerobic exercise (walking), or coordinative exercise. Coordinative exercise consisted of a sequence of bilateral activities requiring gross and fine motor movement using balls of various sizes and types. Prior to and immediately after the lecture, subjects completed the d2 Test of attention. Subjects did not exercise or drink caffeine prior to participation. Heart rate was similar during aerobic and coordinative exercise. The total number of items processed (TN) and concentration performance (CP) increased from immediately post exercise to post-lecture in all conditions. The number of errors following coordinative exercise before the lecture was greater than the other conditions. The results of this investigation suggest that aerobic and coordinative exercise do not influence attention in graduate students.

Physical Activity in the School Setting: Cognitive Performance Is Not Affected by Three Different Types of Acute Exercise

“…Further, there was no differential effects of exercise type on performance on the two cognitive tests. This is in line with a previous study of Bailey et al (2014) , who neither found acute, nor differential effects of 15 min aerobic and coordinative exercise on the same selective attention test (d2 test). However, this study differed with respect to age of the participants (young adults).…”

“…The generalizability of the results to regular students is therefore questionable. Moreover, neither our, nor the studies of Gallotta et al (2012 , 2015 ) and Bailey et al (2014) were able to replicate the findings of Budde et al (2008) . This might suggest that the role of exercise type may not be as prominent as suggested by Budde et al (2008) .…”

“…In contrast, Gallotta et al (2012 , 2015 ) found larger improvements in selective attention in 8–11 years old children after aerobic compared to coordinative exercise. Bailey et al (2014) found no acute effects of 15 min coordination or aerobic exercises on selective attention in young adults.…”

Inter-Individual Differences in Cognitive Response to a Single Bout of Physical Exercise—A Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Study

“…However, our results replicate the non-significant effect on accuracy [8]. Moreover, some other studies also failed to observe significant effects regarding speed, or even found detrimental effects [25,26,27]. One potential reason for this null-effect could be our small sample size or the time point when the behavioural measures were tested with regard to the preceding acute exercise.…”

Effects of a Single Physical or Mindfulness Intervention on Mood, Attention, and Executive Functions: Results from two Randomized Controlled Studies in University Classes

“…There is growing evidence for positive effects of brief (one session) bouts of physical exercise on cognitive performance (Bailey et al 2014;Brisswalter et al 2002;Chang et al 2012;Lambourne and Tomporowski 2010;Roig et al 2013;Tomporowski 2003; Van den Berg et al 2016;Zinke et al 2012). Meta-analyses on the effects of acute exercise on cognitive performance, such as information processing, speeded performance, attention, and executive functions, also indicated overall positive but small effects (Chang et al 2012;Lambourne and Tomporowski 2010).…”