Acute Exercise and Academic Achievement in Middle School Youth

Abstract

Research has established that when students are more physically active, their academic performance improves relative to their more sedentary peers. Aerobic exercise (AE) has consistently demonstrated positive effects on academic achievement (AA) in middle-school-aged students. Research in adult and elderly populations has shown that resistance exercise (RE) can positively influence cognition. However, there is a paucity of research examining the effects of RE on measures of academic achievement in youth. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of AE, RE, and a non-exercise (NE) control on measures of AA and cognition in 8th grade boys and girls. METHODS: This study utilized a randomized crossover design. Eighth grade boys and girls performed three separate exercise trials (AE, RE, NE) separated by seven days each. Immediately following exercise, participants completed a 10-question mathematics test, followed by the Stroop Test (Victoria version). RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference in mean math test performance between RE and NE (F1,62 = 4.50, p = .038, η2 = .068). AE also resulted in a mean math score increase of 0.44 points (out of 10), which may be considered practically significant (η2 = .04). Results of separate repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant differences between RE and NE in the Stroop Dot test (F1,62 = 8.14, p = .006, η2 = .116), Stroop Word test (F1,62 = 9.90, p = .003, η2 = .138), and Stroop Color test (F1,62 = 7.57, p = .008, η2 = .109). Significant differences were also found between AE and NE in the Stroop Word test (F1,62 = 91.63, p < .001, η2 = .596) and Stroop Color test (F1,62 = 14.53, p < .001, η2 = .19). Finally, significant differences were found between RE and AE in the Stroop Dot test (F1,61 = 9.18, p = .004, η2 = .129), Stroop Word test (F1,62 = 14.73, p < .001, η2 = .192), and Stroop Color test (F1,62 = 20.14, p < .001, η2 = .245). CONCLUSION: RE and AE demonstrated improvement in mean math test performance as compared to NE. Additionally, RE significantly improved performance over AE and NE in the Stroop Dot, Word and Color tests. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first example of acute RE being utilized to enhance AA and cognitive functions in a middle-school-aged sample.