The Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Attention and Affect in Middle-Aged Women

Abstract

PURPOSE: To explore the effect of one bout of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on attention and affect in healthy middle-aged women. METHODS: Five healthy women, age 55.2 ± 8.9 years, BMI 30.2 ± 4.4 kg/m2, and percent body fat 35.5 ± 5.7% completed a 30-minute session of aerobic exercise on the cycle ergometer at a workload corresponding to 60% of VO2peak. Subjects also completed a 30-minute control session on the cycle ergometer at 0 Watts. Before and after both 30-minute sessions, participants completed two computerized tests of attention: The Digit Span Test and the Flanker Task. Performance on the Digit Span was assessed by examining the mean forward digit span and mean backward digit span achieved. Performance on the Flanker Task was assessed by examining the error proportion and mean reaction times for incongruent and congruent trials. Participants also completed the Activation Deactivation Adjective Checklist (AD-ACL) to assess affect (i.e. energy, tiredness, calmness, and tension) before and after both 30-minute sessions. RESULTS: Repeated-measures ANOVAs indicated that participants achieved a significantly higher forward vs. backward mean digit span (mean difference: 0.7 ± 0.2, p = 0.046) and that mean digit span performance significantly improved from pre- to post-session (mean difference: 0.5 ± 0.2, p = 0.033). Participants displayed a larger decrease in error proportion from pre- to post-session for the incongruent vs. the congruent trials of the Flanker Task (p = 0.058), as well as a significant decrease in mean reaction time pre- to post-session (mean difference: -23.0 ± 6.8 ms, p = 0.028) that was more pronounced for the congruent vs. the incongruent trials (p = 0.08). Participants also reported feeling significantly more energetic and less tired from pre- to post-session on AD-ACL subscale scores (mean differences: 3.5 ±0.9, p = 0.013 and -4.7 ± 1.8, p = 0.052, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Exploratory results suggest that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise may positively impact some aspects of attention in middle aged women. Participants reported feeling more energized and less tired after 30 minutes of activity. Additional ongoing investigation is needed to more clearly understand the impact of acute aerobic exercise on cognitive function in this population.