Improvement of Reaction Time After a Workplace Physical Activity Intervention

Abstract

Introduction Work activities have been occupying an increasing amount of time in the daily lives of the population, making individuals less physically active. A job market strategy is to invest in physical exercise programs in the actual workplace to improve the physical and cognitive aspects of these employees. Objective To verify the effects of a workplace physical exercise program on the simple and choice reaction times of public university employees. Methods Twenty-six physically inactive male and female subjects with a mean age of 29.62 ± 6.47 years underwent a program consisting of thirty-six sessions with physical exercises in the workplace, held three times a week over twelve weeks. Simple reaction time (SRT) and choice reaction time (CRT) were assessed before and after the intervention, using the Vienna Test System®, and the results were presented in: I) reaction time, II) movement time; and (III) response time. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted using the statistical program SPSS® (version 21.0 for Windows), with a significance level of 5%. Results When observing the SRT and CRT variables before and after the experiment, we noticed an improvement in reaction time, movement time and response time in the experimental group but not in the control group. Conclusion The workplace physical exercise program was able to reduce the SRT and CRT of the experimental group. Level of evidence I; randomized clinical trial.

Which factors can be used to persuade managers to start workplace physical activity programmes and what motivates employees to participate? A Hungarian study on goals, effects and motivations

“…In a 2019 experiment, researchers asked university employees to participate in a 12-week PA programme and measured the speed of their reflexes before and after. Participants showed positive changes in reflex function compared to the control group (Laux and Corazza, 2019). Therefore, even a 12-week programme can offer beneficial effects on cognitive function.…”

Efeito de um programa de exercício físico no ambiente de trabalho sobre a qualidade de vida

“…Studies with the same intervention protocol (including application time) found a reduction in anxiety [10] and in medical certificates [6], improvement in reaction time [5], and in the mood [12] of administrative-technical servers in a federal university. It was expected, therefore, that for this variable, quality of life, a positive effect would also be observed after the protocol application.…”

“…In the work environment, quality of life involves physical and environmental aspects, as well as psychological aspects [5,6]. The decrease in the quality of life in the workplace can leave workers unmotivated and dissatisfied, with high rates of absences, leaves, turnover, and work accidents, in addition to low productivity and poor quality in the products and services provided [7].…”

Reaction Times among Batik Workers: The Influence of Gender and Occupational Lead Exposure

“…A simple test to observe neurobehavioral performance is a visual reaction time test. Although categorized as an unsophisticated evaluation tool, its validity and reliability are acceptable for monitoring changes in cognitive capacity by either pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions in a productive work environment [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Therefore, we conducted an observational study to examine the difference in reaction time between batik workers with lead exposure and non-exposure day jobs.…”