Physical activity and cognitive function : moment-to-moment and day-to-day associations
Kekäläinen, T., Luchetti, M., Terracciano, A., Gamaldo, A. A., Mogle, J., Lovett, H. H., Brown, J., Rantalainen, T., Sliwinski, M. J., & Sutin, A. R. (2023). Physical activity and cognitive function : moment-to-moment and day-to-day associations. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 20, Article 137. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-023-01536-9
Authors
Date
2023Discipline
Gerontologia ja kansanterveysHyvinvoinnin tutkimuksen yhteisöBiomekaniikkaGerontology and Public HealthSchool of WellbeingBiomechanicsCopyright
© 2023 the Authors
Background: The beneficial effect of acute physical exercise on cognitive performance has been studied in laboratory settings and in long-term longitudinal studies. Less is known about these associations in everyday environment and on a momentary timeframe. This study investigated momentary and daily associations between physical activity and cognitive functioning in the context of everyday life.
Methods: Middle-aged adults (n=291, aged 40–70) were asked to wear accelerometers and complete ecological momentary assessments for eight consecutive days. Processing speed and visual memory were assessed three times per day and self-rated evaluations of daily cognition (memory, thinking, and sharpness of mind) were collected each night. The number of minutes spent above the active threshold (active time) and the maximum vector magnitude counts (the highest intensity obtained) before each cognitive test and at a daily level were used as predictors of momentary cognitive performance and nightly subjective cognition. Analyses were done with multilevel linear models. The models were adjusted for temporal and contextual factors, age, sex, education, and race/ethnicity.
Results: When participants had a more active time or higher intensity than their average level within the 20 or 60minutes prior to the cognitive test, they performed better on the processing speed task. On days when participants had more active time than their average day, they rated their memory in the evening better. Physical activity was not associated with visual memory or self-rated thinking and sharpness of mind.
Conclusions: This study provides novel evidence that outside of laboratory settings, even small increases in physical activity boost daily processing speed abilities and self-rated memory. The finding of temporary beneficial effects is consistent with long-term longitudinal research on the cognitive benefits of physical activity.
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Biomed CentralISSN Search the Publication Forum
1479-5868Keywords
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https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/194564692
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Open Access funding provided by University of Jyväskylä (JYU). Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R56AG064952, R01AG074573, and R01AG068093.License
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