Differences in the Effects of Reading and Aerobic Exercise Interventions on Inhibitory Control of College Students With Mobile Phone Addiction

Abstract

Although many previous studies have shown that short-time moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can improve one's inhibitory control, some researchers suggested that its effect on inhibitory control is small. Meanwhile, some studies have shown that reading has a positive effect on inhibitory control. Since many studies examining the effect of exercise on inhibitory control used reading as a filler task, it is important to compare their effects. The present study used the antisaccade task as a tool to examine the differences in the effects of aerobic exercise and reading on inhibitory control of college students with mobile phone addiction. Thirty healthy college students with mobile phone addiction (range: 17–20 years, mean: 19.2 years) took part in the experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise group and a reading group. For the aerobic exercise group, participants were asked to perform moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for 15 min. For the reading group, participants were asked to sit quietly and read articles from newspapers for 15 min. Each participant's inhibitory control was examined pre- and post-intervention using the antisaccade task. In the antisaccade task, they have to direct their gaze toward the mirror image location of the target appearing parafoveally as quickly and as accurately as possible. The results showed significant main effects of Time (pre-test vs. post-test) on antisaccade latency and error rate. More importantly, a significant interaction of Time (pre-test vs. post-test) and Group (aerobic exercise vs. reading) was found on antisaccade latency. Specifically, the antisaccade latencies in the post-test were significantly shorter than those in the pre-test for the reading group, but the antisaccade latencies in the post-test and pre-test were comparable for the aerobic exercise group. The results of the present study imply that although both exercise and reading have effects on inhibitory control of college students with mobile phone addiction, the effect of reading may be somehow superior to exercise. Moreover, the current results also imply that researchers should be cautious when using reading as a filler task in future studies regarding the effect of aerobic exercise. The limitations of the present study were discussed.

Look into my eyes: What can eye-based measures tell us about the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance?

“… 94 , 95 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 Five trials studied the effect of chronic physical training on cognitive performance and eye-based measures, 96 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 and 18 studies investigated the influence of an acute bout of physical exercise on cognitive performance and eye-based measures. 92 , 93 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 …”

“… (2) n.a. (1) Pro- and antisaccade task (2) ▪ ↓ RT in antisaccade condition in tennis players vs. swimmers and non-athletes, volleyball players vs. swimmers and non-athletes, basketball players vs. non-athletes ▪ ↑ Prosaccade velocity in tennis players vs. basketball players, swimmers, and non-athletes; and volleyball players vs. non-athletes Zhou et al (2022) 134 (1) RCT with between-subject design and pretest/post-test comparisons (2) Passive CG (3) Younger adults (students) with mobile phone addiction ▪ EX: n = 15 (12 females/3 males) ▪ CON: n = 15 (11 females/4 males)] ▪ EX: 19.5 ± 0.72 years ▪ CON: 18.9 ± 0.93 years (3.1) EX: 1298.8 ± 1633.0 MET per week; CG: 1060.5 ± 1636.4 MET per week (3.2) EX: 163.0 ± 7.7cm; CG: 165.4 ± 8.2cm/51.8 ± 6.5 kg; CG: 68.9 ± 24.9 kg/EX: 19.4 ± 1.4 kg/m 2 ; CG: 24.9 ± 2.9 kg/m 2 (1) Light-to-moderate intensity (i.e., 60%–70% of predicted HR max ) (2) 15 min (1) Antisaccade task (2) ▪ ↓ Directional errors in EX and CON (post- vs. pretest) ▪ ↓ RT in CON but not in EX (post- vs. pretest) Zhou (2021) 115 (1) Cross-sectional study (2) Skilled vs . less-skilled soccer players (3) Healthy female adolescent soccer players ▪ n = 56 (16.50 ± 0.71 years) ▪ Skilled soccer players: n = 24 (24 females) ▪ Less-skilled soccer players: n = 32 (32 females) ▪ Skilled soccer players: 16.6 ± 0.7 years ▪ Less-skilled soccer players: 16.4 ± 0.7 years (3.1) n.a.…”

“…Most of the reviewed studies included younger healthy adults with normal cognitive performance (based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the respective studies) who were mainly students and could be classified as recreationally active, 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 108 , 111 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 135 , 137 whereas 6 of the studies compared different types of younger athletes. 109 , 110 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 136 The remaining trials examined (a) healthy school-aged children, 96 (b) younger adults with mobile phone addiction, 134 (c) healthy community-dwelling older adults, 119 , 125 , 133 (d) older adults with self-reported cognitive complaints 118 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, 121 (e) older adults with objective cognitive impairments, 119 (f) healthy older adults, 113 , 120 or (g) a population with a broad age range from 18 to 60 years 112 ( Table 1 ).…”

The relationship between physical exercise and mobile phone addiction among Chinese college students: Testing mediation and moderation effects

“…Previous studies have found that exercise can improve the inhibition and control ability deficits of individuals with MPA ( Davis et al, 2011 ). When faced with cognitive tasks, the scores of MPA of individuals doing more exercise were significantly lower ( Zhou and Wang, 2022 ). Thus, increasing self-control and physical exercise may prevent or alleviate MPA.…”

Intervention Effect of Mindfulness-Based Mental Health Education Therapy on Adolescents Mobile Phone Addiction and Cognitive Tendency

“…Common treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy ( 9 ) and motivational interventions ( 10 ), such as mental health education courses, cognitive–behavioral group counseling, and inhibitory control training. Common exercise interventions include aerobic exercise ( 11 ) and outdoor activities ( 12 ). These approaches not only allow the highly excited nerve cells to fully rest but also promote physical wellbeing; prevent conditions such as cervical spine issues, lumbar spine problems, and myopia; provide opportunities to relax; alleviate stress; reduce feelings of anxiety and depression; facilitate person-to-person communication; and enhance interpersonal relationships ( 12 , 13 ).…”