Distinct effects of acute exercise and breaks in sitting on working memory and executive function in older adults: A three-arm, randomised cross-over trial to evaluate the effects of exercise with and without breaks in sitting on cognition

MJ Wheeler; DJ Green; KA Ellis; E Cerin; I Heinonen; LH Naylor; R Larsen; P Wennberg; CJ Boraxbekk; J Lewis; N Eikelis; NT Lautenschlager; BA Kingwell; G Lambert; N Owen; DW Dunstan

Journal article

Distinct effects of acute exercise and breaks in sitting on working memory and executive function in older adults: A three-arm, randomised cross-over trial to evaluate the effects of exercise with and without breaks in sitting on cognition

MJ Wheeler, DJ Green, KA Ellis, E Cerin, I Heinonen, LH Naylor, R Larsen, P Wennberg, CJ Boraxbekk, J Lewis, N Eikelis, NT Lautenschlager, BA Kingwell, G Lambert, N Owen, DW Dunstan

British Journal of Sports Medicine | BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2020

DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-100168

Abstract

Background Sedentary behaviour is associated with impaired cognition, whereas exercise can acutely improve cognition. Objective We compared the effects of a morning bout of moderate-intensity exercise, with and without subsequent light-intensity walking breaks from sitting, on cognition in older adults. Methods Sedentary overweight/obese older adults with normal cognitive function (n=67, 67±7 years, 31.2±4.1 kg/m 2) completed three conditions (6-day washout): SIT (sitting): uninterrupted sitting (8 hours, control); EX+SIT (exercise + sitting): sitting (1 hour), moderate-intensity walking (30 min), uninterrupted sitting (6.5 hours); and EX+BR (exercise + breaks): sitting (1 hour), moderate-in..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Michael Wheeler Author

Kathryn Ellis Author

Robyn Larsen Author

Nicola Lautenschlager Author

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Grants

Awarded by Abbott Laboratories

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was funded by a project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (1062338) and supported in part by the Victorian Government's OIS Program. MJW is supported by The University of Western Australia and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. DJG is supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (APP1080914). EC is supported by an ARC Future Fellowship (ARC FT140100085). IH is supported by the University of Turku, Hospital District of Southwest Finland and the Juho Vainio Foundation. DD is supported by an NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (NHMRC APP1078360). GL is supported by an NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (APP1042492). The laboratory of GL has recently received research funding from Medtronic, Abbott (formerly Solvay) Pharmaceuticals, Servier Australia and Allergan. GL has acted as a consultant for Medtronic.