The Role of the Time of Day in the Effects of Exercise on Memory in Heathy Young Adults

NCT04861818 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 20-0141
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Cumulative evidence indicates that a single bout of exercise has beneficial impacts on memory in young adults. From a physiological perspective, acute exercise leads to changes of heart rate variability (HRV), which is associated with memory retrieval process. From a psychological perspective, acute exercise increases the arousal level and thus facilitates cognitive processing including memory storage and retrieval. Such HRV- and/or arousal-based effects of exercise on memory could be differed by the time of day in young adults based on their circadian rhythms of HRV. Moreover, young adults prefer afternoon or evening to morning in their circadian rhythms, demonstrating less wakefulness and lower memory performance in the morning relative to afternoon. Based on the potential psychophysiological mechanisms, exercise could impact young adults' memory differently by the time of day. The investigators aim to 1) determine the extent to which the time of day modulates how moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise impacts verbal-auditory and visuospatial short- and long-term memory in young adults, and 2) consider potential psychological and physiological markers that may mediate exercise's effects on cognitive performance. As cognitive benefits of exercise might differ by the time of day, it is important to investigate such interaction and make the right recommendations of the timing of exercise for young adults in academic settings.

Conditions

Aerobic Exercise; Cognitive Change

Keywords

Aerobic exercise; Physical activity; Cognition

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Verbal episodic memory change

  Verbal episodic memory will be assessed immediately and 24 hour after intervention (rest and exercise) using the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT trial 1 - 8; max/min score: 15/0 for each trial)

  Immediately after the intervention, the first cognitive test

• Visual episodic memory change

  Verbal episodic memory will be assessed immediately after intervention (rest and exercise) using the NIH Toolbox Picture Sequence Memory Test (max/min score: 30/0).

  Immediately after the intervention, the second cognitive test

• Lure discrimination index change

  Lure discrimination index will be assessed immediately after intervention (rest and exercise) using the Mnemonic Similarity Task (max/min score: 1/0).

  Immediately after the intervention, the third cognitive test

• Working memory change

  Verbal episodic memory will be assessed immediately after intervention (rest and exercise) using the Digits Span Forward and Backward Task (max/min score: 14/0).

  Immediately after the intervention, the fourth cognitive test

Study Arms (2)

Morning group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participant are assigned to the morning group (7-9am) for 30-min exercise/rest interventions.

Behavioral: Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise

Afternoon group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participant are assigned to the afternoon group (3-5pm) for 30-min exercise/rest interventions.

Behavioral: Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise

Interventions

Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise BEHAVIORAL

Eligible participants will come into the lab on day 1 and 3 at the same time of day (either morning at 7-10am or afternoon at 3-5pm). They will be then randomly assigned for a rest or an exercise session prior to the memory test. For the rest condition, they will be required to sit and relax while watching Planet Earth for 30 minutes on a cycle ergometer. During the exercise session, they will complete a moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise for 20 minutes following a 5-min warm-up and followed by a 5-min cool-down on a cycle ergometer. They will start the memory test immediately after the rest/exercise session.

Afternoon group; Morning group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Between the ages of 18-25.
• Currently meeting the American College of Sports Medicine's recommended guidelines of activity (at least 90 min/week of moderate and/or vigorous physical activity).
• Willing to participate for 4 days (2 visits) and refrain from exercise outside of the lab for 4 days (1 day before and the day of two visits).

You may not qualify if:

• Any known history of cardiac, pulmonary, or metabolic disease (e.g. cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes).
• A current musculoskeletal injury, mental illness (e.g., depression, anxiety, or stress disorders), or sleep disorder.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of North Carolina, Greensboro: lead

Study Sites (1)

UNC Greensboro

Greensboro, North Carolina, 27412, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Kyoung Shin Park, PhD

  UNC Greensboro

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Shin Park, PhD

CONTACT

336-256-1069; k_park4@uncg.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 23, 2020
• First Posted: April 27, 2021
• Study Start: June 21, 2021
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2025
• Study Completion: December 30, 2025
• Last Updated: December 17, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)