Regular physical activity and effortful control form a bidirectional virtuous circle, where chronic exercise improves executive functions, which in turn facilitates the maintenance of physical activity.
Does physical activity improve executive functions and effortful control, and vice versa?
The article proposes a bidirectional 'virtuous circle' where physical activity improves executive functions, which subsequently enhances adherence to physical activity.
Exercise and health psychology have generated 2 sets of empirical studies guided by separate theory-driven axes. The first axis focuses on the causal relationship between chronic exercise and cognition and, more particularly, high-level cognitive functions such as executive functions (EFs). The second axis examines factors influencing the adherence process to physical activity (PA). Research conducted during the past decade shows that these 2 topics are closely linked, with EFs and effortful control playing a pivotal role in the bidirectional relationship linking PA and mental/brain health. The present article supports the idea that an individual engaged in the regular practice of effortful PA initiates a virtuous circle linking PA and effortful control in a bidirectional way. On the one hand, chronic exercise leads to an improvement of EFs and effortful control. On the other hand, gains in EFs and effortful control effectiveness lead to a reciprocal facilitation of the maintenance of PA over time. Some limitations and perspectives to this effort hypothesis are proposed in the last part of the article.
Audiffren et al. (Wed,) conducted a review in Cognition and physical activity. Physical activity was evaluated on Executive functions and effortful control. Regular physical activity and effortful control form a bidirectional virtuous circle, where chronic exercise improves executive functions, which in turn facilitates the maintenance of physical activity.
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