Effect of frequent interruptions of prolonged sitting on self-perceived levels of energy, mood, food cravings and cognitive function.

Audrey Bergouignan,Jack L Groppel,Elizabeth Kealey,Nathan De Jong,James O Hill,Kristina T Legget,Raphaela O’Day,Daniel H Bessesen,Chris Jordan,Janet Nikolovski

doi:10.1186/s12966-016-0437-z

Abstract

BackgroundWhile physical activity has been shown to improve cognitive performance and well-being, office workers are essentially sedentary. We compared the effects of physical activity performed as (i) one bout in the morning or (ii) as microbouts spread out across the day to (iii) a day spent sitting, on mood and energy levels and cognitive function.MethodsIn a randomized crossover trial, 30 sedentary adults completed each of three conditions: 6 h of uninterrupted sitting (SIT), SIT plus 30 min of moderate-intensity treadmill walking in the morning (ONE), and SIT plus six hourly 5-min microbouts of moderate-intensity treadmill walking (MICRO). Self-perceived energy, mood, and appetite were assessed with visual analog scales. Vigor and fatigue were assessed with the Profile of Mood State questionnaire. Cognitive function was measured using a flanker task and the Comprehensive Trail Making Test. Intervention effects were tested using linear mixed models.ResultsBoth ONE and MICRO increased self-perceived energy and vigor compared to SIT (p < 0.05 for all). MICRO, but not ONE, improved mood, decreased levels of fatigue and reduced food cravings at the end of the day compared to SIT (p < 0.05 for all). Cognitive function was not significantly affected by condition.ConclusionsIn addition to the beneficial impact of physical activity on levels of energy and vigor, spreading out physical activity throughout the day improved mood, decreased feelings of fatigue and affected appetite. Introducing short bouts of activity during the workday of sedentary office workers is a promising approach to improve overall well-being at work without negatively impacting cognitive performance.Trial registration NCT02717377, registered 22 March 2016.

Highlights

While physical activity has been shown to improve cognitive performance and well-being, office workers are essentially sedentary
Participants A total of 30 participants were recruited from a population of healthy, sedentary, non-obese adult men and women (M = 9, F = 21) who were between 25 and 50 years of age and who did not report meeting levels of physical activity recommended by current guidelines
We further observed that changes induced by MICRO condition compared to SIT in epinephrine were positively correlated to changes in mood areas under the curve (AUC) between MICRO and SIT (r = 0.41, p = 0.03). This is the first study to examine, under controlled laboratory conditions, the impact of physical activity performed as one single continuous bout or as multiple short bouts spread out across the day on energy levels, mood, fatigue and cognitive performance, compared to uninterrupted sitting in healthy adults

Summary

Introduction

While physical activity has been shown to improve cognitive performance and well-being, office workers are essentially sedentary. 1970s, by the 1990s about 60–70 % were employed in jobs characterized by work in office environments [1]. These developments have had an overall beneficial impact on occupational health. New job demands, new working methods, and the increased need for processing and analyzing information may have placed a high demand on workers and may have increased mental stress and detrimentally impacted well-being and mood [2]. Physical activity is known to positively affect cognitive performance, concentration, well-being and mood [3,4,5,6,7]. The expansion of service occupations has reduced physical activity by 20 % at the workplace since

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