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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Want to sharpen your mental focus? A brief, intense workout might be just what your brain needs, according to new research.
While we’ve known for a long time that regular exercise can boost brain health over time, scientists from UC Santa Barbara have now found evidence that even a single workout session can enhance cognitive function – especially if you’re willing to break a big-time sweat.
In a comprehensive review published in Communications Psychology, researchers analyzed thousands of exercise studies conducted between 1995 and 2023, focusing on participants between the ages of 18 and 45. Their findings suggest that short bursts of vigorous activity, particularly cycling and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), can provide immediate cognitive benefits.
“We found that vigorous activities had the largest effects,” explains Barry Giesbrecht, a professor in UCSB’s Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and senior author of the study, in a media release.
Think of HIIT as the workout equivalent of sprint intervals – short periods of intense exercise followed by brief rest periods.
Perhaps surprisingly, shorter workouts packed more mental punch than longer ones. Sessions under 30 minutes showed stronger cognitive benefits than those lasting longer. The improvements were most noticeable in executive functioning – the mental skills we use to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks.
The research team discovered these brain-boosting effects were strongest when cognitive tests were performed after exercise rather than during the workout itself. However, Giesbrecht notes that the cognitive improvements, while consistent, were generally modest in size.
This could be because most studies test mental performance on tasks unrelated to physical activity. Giesbrecht suggests that activities requiring both physical and mental engagement might show even stronger benefits – an intriguing hypothesis his team plans to investigate through both laboratory experiments and real-world activities.
The study builds on decades of research showing that regular exercise can improve brain function and even stimulate the formation of new brain cells – a process called neurogenesis. But this new analysis, led by recent Ph.D. graduate Jordan Garrett, is among the first to comprehensively demonstrate that even one-off exercise sessions can give our brains a temporary edge.
So, the next time you’re facing a mental challenge, consider hitting the bike or trying a quick HIIT session first. Your brain might thank you for it.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The study employed a systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis to examine how a single session of exercise affects cognitive performance in young adults. Researchers gathered data from 113 studies encompassing 4,390 participants, focusing on performance in various cognitive tasks after a brief, single bout of exercise.
This study categorized types of physical activity, such as cycling or high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and measured cognitive performance in areas like reaction time, accuracy, memory, and attention. The Bayesian approach enabled a nuanced understanding of results by emphasizing probabilistic evidence, meaning that results were viewed in terms of likelihood rather than just statistical significance.
Key Results
The study found that engaging in a single, short session of exercise has a small positive effect on cognition, particularly by enhancing reaction time and, to a lesser extent, executive functions like working memory and attention. Exercise types such as cycling and HIIT showed the most pronounced benefits. However, the effect size was modest, suggesting that while exercise might boost cognitive performance momentarily, it isn’t a drastic enhancer. On average, a brief workout made participants marginally quicker on tasks but didn’t significantly affect their accuracy.
Study Limitations
First, the variation in exercise intensity, type, and timing could influence cognitive outcomes, making it challenging to pinpoint one optimal exercise form. Additionally, because studies used different cognitive tasks and measurements, directly comparing results across studies was difficult. Furthermore, the effects of exercise on accuracy were less conclusive, suggesting that single exercise sessions may have limited impact in improving all cognitive areas equally.
Discussion & Takeaways
The findings support the idea that brief exercise sessions can provide modest cognitive boosts, especially for tasks requiring quick responses. This aligns with previous research on exercise and brain health but highlights that the immediate cognitive benefits are subtle. The study suggests that while exercise can be a useful tool for enhancing certain mental tasks, its effects are neither dramatic nor universal across all cognitive areas. These findings could inform recommendations for activities that promote mental alertness in short bursts, such as a quick workout before work or study sessions.
Funding & Disclosures
This study was funded by the United States Army Research Office, supporting research into interventions that could improve cognitive performance. The authors did not disclose any conflicts of interest, suggesting the research was conducted without bias from commercial or personal interests.
