The Effect of Brief, Low-Intensity Stretching Gymnastics on Autonomic Nervous System Activity and Cognitive Function

Abstract

Purpose: Stretching exercise and gymnastics both have beneficial effects, such as improvement of autonomic nervous system activity and mood. Additionally, studies on the effects of exercise on cognitive function have been conducted covering a wide range of age groups and have attracted much attention. However, conventional studies have set up programs with implementation times of 20 to 30 minutes. Therefore, shorter stretching programs are needed in order to fit them more easily into one’s free time. We examined the effects of a short 7-minute stretching gymnastics regime on the autonomic nervous system activity and cognitive function in 21 healthy participants. Methods: In this study, the participants performed a 10-minute cognitive task, followed by either Stretch Well Gymnastics, Stretch Band Gymnastics, or Radio Gymnastics sessions on different days. The participants then performed the cognitive task again. Heart rate was measured continuously throughout the experiment and we analyzed the heart rate variability. The cognitive tasks completed by all of the participants were evaluated for inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. Results: A significant increase was shown in the sympathetic nerve activity during the Stretch Well Gymnastics, compared to the Radio Gymnastics and Stretch Band Gymnastics. Parasympathetic nerve levels were significantly increased after the gymnastics, compared to during the gymnastics, although there were no significant differences between any of the tasks. Additionally, in both the Stroop task and the number-Letter task, reaction times were faster in all of the sessions. In particular, the Stroop task showed the highest values for the Radio Gymnastics sessions, with marginally significantly lower scores for the Stretch Well Gymnastics sessions. Conclusion: The results showed that these heart rate variability responses supported the effects of autonomic activity associated with conventional low-intensity exercise. Additionally, stretching gymnastics for less than 10 minutes showed a positive effect on inhibitory function and cognitive flexibility.