Differential effects of prolonged aerobic and resistance exercise on cognitive functioning in sedentary young adults

Objectives Inconsistencies in the literature make it difficult to outline the relationship between exercise and cognition in young adults. Our aim is to better understand the relationship between prolonged aerobic and resistance exercise and cognitive abilities in sedentary young adults, and how this relationship is mediated by changes in cardiovascular fitness. Methods Twenty-three volunteers were recruited and assigned to two groups to complete one hour of continuous daily workout sessions of aerobic (SPIN) and anaerobic (SCSW) exercises over a 30 day period. Each subject was provided with a Polar-10 wearable to record the heart rate (HR) activity during the workout sessions. The workout sessions were completed during five consecutive days over four consecutive weeks. Each week, HR data were collected from the last workout session. Volunteers also completed a neurocognitive test battery (Cambridge Brain Sciences, CBS) each exercise session, including an additional baseline measure before exercise regime began. Results We found that memory, reasoning and verbal abilities improved throughout the aerobic, but not the resistance exercise program. We found a positive correlation between heart rate index (HRI) and memory and reasoning test scores. We also found a negative correlation between reasoning ability and HRM (heart rate mean), and heart rate skewness (SKW). The results of a regression model to predict memory and reasoning abiltiies revealed that memory was best predicted by HRI and HRM, while the reasoning ability was best predicted by only HRI. Conclusion Regular aerobic exercises improved specific cognitive performance and it was possible to predict the performance by employing the HR parameters HRI and HRM.