Exercising4Cognition: Can Short Bouts of Aerobic Exercise Improve Cognitive Performance in Healthy Adults for Primary Health Prevention? Previous Findings and Suggestions for the Future.

Abstract

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) and regular exercise (RE) are essential for an active and healthy lifestyle. Additionally, the short-term effects have been investigated to understand how an acute bout of exercise impacts cognitive processing, an important aspect of mental health and well-being. Previous studies have confirmed positive effects. However, several exercise factors and human factors can influence this relationship. Aim/Methods/Results: This perspective paper has three main objectives: firstly, discussing the exercise and human factors that influence exercise-cognition effects significantly across studies according to previous reviews and meta-analytic studies and how this influence could be explained theoretically; secondly, highlighting important knowledge gaps and research questions for future research; and thirdly, discussing what conclusion can be drawn for cognitive health promotion. A particular focus is given to the effects of acute bouts of aerobic exercise and healthy adults as an important target group for primary health prevention. Conclusions: The summary of previous findings shows that the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise on cognitive performance in healthy adults depend on (a) exercise factors such as the duration and intensity of the acute bout of exercise, (b) cognitive factors such as the type of cognitive task and domain of cognitive functions, and (c) individual factors such as the physical activity of the individuals. Still, open questions concern the ideal duration, intensity and timing of the acute bout of exercise. In particular, more research is needed to determine whether and how aerobic exercises of short duration and an intensity above and especially below moderate intensity improve cognitive functions in healthy adults. Methodologically, these factors should be addressed by multimethod designs that consider intra- and interindividual comparisons and different response levels (self-report, behavioral, psychophysiological). In conclusion, answering these questions could pave the way for recommendations on how healthcare professionals should prescribe brief aerobic exercise as a cognitive health booster in healthy young adults. To this end, concepts of extended arousal and neurovisceral integration are useful framework models to include individual factors, like self-regulatory abilities of the individual and how these influence exercise-cognition interactions and exercise motivation during, pre-to-post and across testing sessions.