Chronic, acute and protocol-dependent effects of exercise on psycho-physiological health during long-term isolation and confinement

Abstract

Exercise could prevent physical and psychological deteriorations, especially during pandemic times of lock-down scenarios and social isolation. But to meet both, the common exercise protocols require optimization based on holistic investigations and with respect to underlying processes. This study aimed to explore individual chronic and acute effects of continuous and interval running exercise on physical and cognitive performance, mood, and affect and underlying neurophysiological factors during a terrestrial simulated space mission. Six volunteers (three females) were isolated for 120 days. Accompanying exercise training consisted of a continuous and interval running protocol in a cross-over design. Incremental stage tests on a treadmill were done frequently to test physical performance. Actigraphy was used to monitor physical activity level. Cognitive performance, mood (MoodMeter®), affect (PANAS), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and saliva cortisol were investigated prior to, four times during, and after isolation, pre- and post-exercise on two separate days, respectively. As a chronic effect, physical performance increased (and IGF-1 tended) in the course of isolation and training until the end of isolation. Subjective mood and affect state, as well as cognitive performance, basal BDNF and VEGF levels, were well-preserved across the intervention. No acute effects of exercise were detected, besides slower reaction time after exercise in two out of nine cognitive tests, testing sensorimotor speed and memory of complex figures. Consistently higher basal IGF-1 concentrations and faster reaction time in the psychomotor vigilance test were found for the continuous compared to the interval running protocol. The results suggest that 120 days of isolation and confinement can be undergone without cognitive and mental deteriorations. Regular, individual aerobic running training supporting physical fitness is hypothesized to play an important role in this regard. Continuous running exercise seems to trigger higher IGF-1 levels and vigilance compared to interval running. Systematic and prolonged investigations and larger sample size are required to follow up on exercise-protocol specific differences in order to optimize the exercise intervention for long-term psycho-physiological health and well-being.

Secretome from myoblasts statically loaded at low intensity promotes tenocyte proliferation via the IGF‐1 receptor pathway

“…[52][53][54] Increased plasma IGF-1 is beneficial for health 55,56 ; in contrast, decreased IGF-1 is seen in aging human plasma and is related to sarcopenia 57,58 by reducing DNA synthesis and altering the dynamics of mitochondria. 59,60 Like other myokines, the serum levels of IGF-I can increase, [61][62][63][64] decrease, [65][66][67] or remain unchanged 68 as a result of various types and intensities of exercise. We confirmed that IGF-1 expression and secretion was the highest in 2% static loading of myoblasts as compared with 5% and 10%.…”

Impact of bimonthly repeated total sleep deprivation and recovery sleep on cardiovascular indices

“…Participants were screened thoroughly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Inclusion/exclusion criteria required that the participants originate from various cultures and nationalities, have no prior experience with spaceflight, and include both males and females; all participants were in excellent health—they passed a drug screen, physical exam, and psychological assessment, and had no history of neurological, CV, integumentary, musculoskeletal, or gastrointestinal problems (Abeln et al., 2022 ; Saveko et al., 2022 ; Yamazaki, Antler, Casale, et al., 2021 ; Yamazaki, Rosendahl‐Garcia, et al., 2022 ). The studies were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the NASA (4‐month study and 8‐month study) with primary oversight, and by the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Pennsylvania (4‐month study) and Rush University Medical Center (8‐month study).…”

Cardiovascular measures display robust phenotypic stability across long-duration intervals involving repeated sleep deprivation and recovery

“…Participants were screened thoroughly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Inclusion/exclusion criteria required that the participants come from various cultures and nationalities, have no prior experience with space flight, and include both males and females; all participants passed a drug screen and a physical exam ensuring they were in excellent health with no history of neurological, CV, integumentary, musculoskeletal, or gastrointestinal problems, and passed a psychological assessment (Yamazaki et al, 2021(Yamazaki et al, , 2022bAbeln et al, 2022;Saveko et al, 2022). The studies were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the NASA (4-month study and 8-month study) with primary oversight, and also by the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Pennsylvania (4-month study) and Rush University Medical Center (8-month study).…”