Noon is the best time to perform a dual task while cognitive performance may be boosted by concurrent performance of a physical task.

Abstract

Dual-task is the concurrent performance of two independent single tasks (ST) that have distinct goals. Daily variations in performance of singular cognitive or motor tasks are reported in the literature. To investigate whether performance of a dual-task (DT) varies based on the time of day and whether there is interference between the motor and cognitive aspect of DT. Participants performed a 10 Meter Walk Test (10MWT) for motor and a Stroop Test for cognitive task. The DT activity combined both STs. All participants performed three trials for all three conditions at three different times of the day (morning, noon, afternoon), on separate testing days. Data were collected on 42 participants. Most participants were female (28/42), average age of 27.95 ± 9.28 years, and BMI of 25.58 ± 4.49 Kg/m2. Walking velocities in ST were consistently faster than in DT, p < .0005. In DT conditions, the participants walked faster at noon (1.21 ± 0.13 m/s) compared to the morning (1.16 ± 0.15 m/s, p = 0.01) or the afternoon (1.16 ± 0.18 m/s, p = 0.04). The participants' score on the DT-Stroop test were only different at noon (11.43 ± 2.28) when compared to morning (10.67 ± 1.34, p = 0.006). The percentage DT-Cognitive interference effect was 26.1 % in the morning, 11.8 % at noon and 13.4 % in the afternoon. The Motor interference was -14.6 % in the morning, -12.2 % at noon and -13.8 % in the afternoon. Noon is the best time to perform a dual task condition. Noon consistently exhibited the least motor or cognitive interference. Conversely, the maximum boost in cognitive performance was observed in the mornings.