Cognitive Benefits of Exercise: Is There a Time-of-Day Effect?

Abstract

It is well established that physical activity benefits cognition. Further, the time of day one engages in physical activity has been suggested to influence cognition. Here, we aimed to understand if there is a time-of-day effect (morning or afternoon) of physical activity on cognition, i.e., if exercising in the morning or afternoon might bring greater cognitive benefits. A total of 56 participants were allocated to one of two groups with the same baseline cognitive performance as well as fitness level (International Physical Activity Questionnaire—IPAQ): 27 to the morning intervention (M) group; and 29 to the afternoon intervention (A) group. In both groups, the participants engaged in an intermittent recovery test (Yo-yo), 4 times a week for 12 weeks. All participants were assessed with the d2 Test of Attention and the Borg scale of perceived exertion pre- and post- acute and chronic intervention. After the first bout of exercise and after 12 weeks, we observed cognitive improvements both in the M and A groups. Surprisingly, we do not find differences between the time of day regarding cognitive benefits. Our results do not support the existence of a time-of-day effect for the attentional cognitive benefits of exercise.

Aerobic physical exercise versus dual-task cognitive walking in cognitive rehabilitation of people with stroke: a randomized clinical trial

“…To assess the presence of cognitive impairment that might compromise participation, we used the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) cut-off point ≥19 (Yeh et al, 2021) before acute (T0) and after 12-week chronic exercise (T2). Attention and concentration performance was assessed at baseline (T0), post-acute (T1) and post-chronic intervention (T2) using the d2 Test of Attention (Brickenkamp, 2007;Maeneja et al, 2022).…”

“…To assess participants' perceived difficulty after 5 min of recovery from the task, a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (Maeneja et al, 2022), was applied after the d2 Test of Attention. To assess participants' perceived exertion, the Borg Perceived Effort Rating Scale (Borg, 1982;Aamot et al, 2014) was applied after the acute and last training session of each week throughout the 12-week chronic intervention protocol (Borg, 1982;Maeneja et al, 2022), as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The d2 Attention Test is a timed, paper-and-pencil cancelation neuropsychological test that can measure individual attention and concentration performance, such as processing speed and quality of short-term performance (Siennicka et al, 2019;Woo et al, 2022). This test includes 14 lines, each consisting of 47 characters 'p' and 'd' with one to four strokes, arranged around the letters (Siennicka et al, 2019;Maeneja et al, 2022). The test presents three targets: the letter 'd' with two strokes above it, two strokes below it, or one stroke above and one below (da Silva-Sauer et al, 2022).…”

“…Thus, we assessed the following domains: General Efficiency score (TC-E), Concentration Index (CI), Variability Index (IV), and Error Percentage (E%), since with these results it is possible to obtain data on attentional control, ability to concentrate, stability and consistency in the execution of the task. Further, these domains afford the evaluation of the qualitative aspects of performance (Lindemann-Matthies et al, 2021;Maeneja et al, 2022).…”

“…The intensity of a training program is a critical variable in post-stroke treatment gains, and the Borg Scale is a valuable tool for measuring intensity after a stroke, as it is an easy-to-use scale that measures an individual's selfrated physical exertion during exercise, which can even be accurately assessed by individuals with stroke, regardless of the severity of their motor impairments (Milot et al, 2019). To monitor the participants' perceived exertion during the activity, the Borg Scale was used after the acute and last training session of each week throughout the 12-week chronic intervention protocol as in a previous study (Maeneja et al, 2022), since the physical fatigue that occurs during physical exercise seems to influence the specific performance of the task, as well as impair performance in tasks that require target detection (Moore et al, 2012). The development of perceived exertion involves numerous neural processes occurring in various regions of the brain, wherein efferents from the central unit are sent from the motor to the sensory regions of the brain, and therefore perceived exertion is considered extremely important in regulating intensity during physical activity (Abbiss et al, 2015).…”