UC Santa Barbara researchers discovered that single, vigorous exercise sessions, especially under 30 minutes, improve cognitive functions like memory and executive function. Future studies will explore whether combining physical activity with cognitive tasks yields even greater benefits.
Years of research on exercise have long supported the idea that consistent workouts over time lead to both physical and cognitive benefits. But what about short, intense bursts of exercise? A team of scientists at UC Santa Barbara has taken a closer look.
Their study was recently published in the journal Communications Psychology.
“One of the most consistent findings in the literature is that exercise interventions — something like a program that you would engage in, say, three times a week over several months or years — improve cognition and can even promote neurogenesis (the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain),” said Barry Giesbrecht, a professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and senior author of the study. “But studies looking at the effects of single, acute bouts of exercise are much more mixed.”
Study Focus and Methodology
Focusing on subjects between 18–45 years old, first author Jordan Garrett — who graduated with his Ph.D. from the department in June — and the team screened thousands of exercise studies published between 1995 and 2023 to determine the consistent trends in the literature. Based on the results of their modeling approach, cycling and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) produced the most consistent effects in the improvement of memory, attention, executive function, information processing, and other cognitive functions.
“We found that vigorous activities had the largest effects,” Giesbrecht said. “Also, the effects were strongest for studies that tested cognition after exercise, as opposed to during exercise. And lastly, the effects of exercise less than 30 minutes in duration were bigger than those that went beyond 30 minutes. Our work showed the strongest evidence for a positive effect of single bouts of exercise on cognition and that this evidence was impacted by a variety of factors.”
Impact on Executive Function and Future Research
Also among their findings, the team discovered that executive functioning was the key cognitive domain impacted by vigorous exercise, such as HIIT protocols.
“I think that the other intriguing result is that the overall effect of a single bout of exercise was generally on the small side,” Giesbrecht said, noting that besides the variability across the experiments, the enhancements may also be small because they are typically measured when the physical activity is not related to the cognitive task. This raises the “intriguing” hypothesis, he added, that perhaps using tasks that require the integration of actions of our body and cognitive systems may result in more pronounced benefits.
Giesbrecht and his team are planning to put this idea to the test “using a combination of lab tasks and real-world activities,” he said.
Reference: “A systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis provide evidence for an effect of acute physical activity on cognition in young adults” by Jordan Garrett, Carly Chak, Tom Bullock and Barry Giesbrecht, 28 August 2024, Communications Psychology.
DOI: 10.1038/s44271-024-00124-2
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14 Comments
Hi
A very useful research for the brain health. When brain is healthy, body is healthy. Very useful article, everybody should read it.
Hello sir
Hi
Yes, very positive approach and findings. All participants in the range 18 -45 years old which seems needs more, specifically to the layers of 45-65 and the age above. The latter layers are short of energy to perform HIIT, even stagnated in the bed for month or longer. For all science based research is accurate but not to the core of neuro/neuron electric cells enough to activate the brains impaired by tenacious virus and bacteria, SARS-CoV-2. alike… Thanks.
Just the result of increased blood flow and oxygenation in ones system.
Informed
I want to learn to box. Just for the art and technique. But mostly for physical fitness. I’m 62. 5’11”, 210. I would like to lose 30lbs. I have arthritis in my fingers on the left hand, my pinky kind of won’t go back in it’s place and kinds crosses over my ring finger. On my right hand my forefinger will not bend on its own. So my question is, once I put the gloves on and hit the bag and other training. How bad with my hand suffer? Will I break it . Theni could get them reset. Or will I just endure the pain and not even notice . What do you think?
Hi David!
It might be a good idea ask your doctor and/or people who themselves do boxing about this? They might be able to help you with these very specific questions.
Blessings & all the best!
Perhaps you should consider something else for exercise than boxing. Hurting yourself to gain a greater good, can be detrimental to your health. A Broken bone, even a pinky can cause health issues up to and including heart problems. Your pinky develops an infection, bad bacteria goes to the heart and it cost you a lot to overcome it.
Hi David, I teach boxing, martial arts, and collegiate physical education.
The hand with the arthritis will hurt more from boxing, because hitting the bag will create more inflammation. For your hand with crossed fingers, it will likely hurt horribly after one strike if you can’t form a fist. I would recommend no impact for you. For weight loss, there are a number of things you can do in addition to diet. You can do an hour of weights 2-3x a well on non consecutive days, which will make your ability to burn calories all day long increase, or you can do cardio 3-5x a week, which will burn a set amount of calories just during the exercise session. Losing weight takes time, which can get boring and cause people to quit. The key to sticking with it is finding something that’s fun for you.
You could also do something “boring” like walking outside or on a treadmill but add music or watch Netflix on your phone.
I wish you luck!
Hello sir brain ke bare jankari chahiye
Boxing trainers know how to tape your hands to prevent damage from hitting the heavy bag. Parkinson’s boxing never involves actually fighting anyone. Instead the exercise keeps you limber and fights balance problems.
Thanks for the knowledge provided