Acute Effects of Sitting and Physical Activity on Brain Health

Acute Effects of Sitting and Physical Activity on Cerebrovascular Circulation Among Adults

The specific aim of this study is to understand how a working day composed of prolonged sitting, sitting regularly interrupted by light aerobic exercise or resistance exercise affects an important mechanism underpinning healthy brain functions, namely cerebral blood flow. It is primarily focused on investigating these effects in ecologically valid conditions, i.e. activity patterns that closely resemble a typical day at the office.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Adults
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Prolonged sitting with social break; Behavioral: Prolonged sitting with walk break; Behavioral: Prolonged sitting with simple resistance activities

Detailed Description

The study will be a controlled crossover experimental trial with three conditions involving 13 adult participants aged between 40 and 60 years. Each participant will complete each of the three experimental conditions, separated by a washout period of minimum four days. As well, physical activity behaviours and sleep the day/night before the test day will be measured. The first visit will be a familiarization session. On the second, third, and fourth visits, participants will undergo three different standardized 3-hour interventions in a randomized order. Before and immediately after the three-hour interventions, blood pressure, augmentation index, and cerebral hemodynamic response of the prefrontal cortex during standardized cognitive tasks (1,2, and 3-back tests) will be measured. Additionally, saliva samples will be collected the morning of the test day and before and after the interventions, blood glucose will be assessed continuously during the trial, and fitness will be measured at the familiarization visit.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 13
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Stockholm, Sweden, 114 86
    • The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 36 years to 56 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- Has a BMI under 35kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria:

• Has diabetes, epilepsy, or circulatory conditions
• Has experienced heart failure, stroke, or myocardial infarction
• Takes treatment for high blood pressure, sleep disorders, depression, or psychosis

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Prolonged sitting with social break	Behavioral: Prolonged sitting with social break; Participants are required to sit for three hours (reading is permitted), with a toilet break in between. Every thirty minutes participants will have a short social break. Test day begins at 7:30 with pretest measures, followed by the intervention at about 9:00, which will end around 12:00, with subsequent posttest measures.
Experimental: Prolonged sitting with walk break	Behavioral: Prolonged sitting with walk break; Participants are required to sit for three hours (reading is permitted), with a toilet break in between. Every thirty minutes participants will have a physical activity break, where they will perform a brisk walk for about three minutes on a treadmill at a predetermined speed and grade based on the fitness test performed during the familiarization session. Test day begins at 7:30 with pretest measures, followed by the intervention at about 9:00, which will end around 12:00, with subsequent posttest measures.
Experimental: Prolonged sitting with simple resistance activities	Behavioral: Prolonged sitting with simple resistance activities; Participants are required to sit for three hours (reading is permitted), with a toilet break in between. Every thirty minutes participants will have a physical activity break, where they will perform simple resistance activities following a video for about three minutes. Test day begins at 7:30 with pretest measures, followed by the intervention at about 9:00, which will end around 12:00, with subsequent posttest measures.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in cerebral blood flow	Oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration changes measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy	before to after 3 hour intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Augmentation index	as a measure of arterial stiffness	before to after 3 hour intervention
Blood glucose levels		during the 3 hour intervention
Cortisol		before to after 3 hour intervention
Mood	measured with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) comprised of 20 affect states (10 positive and 10 negative), each affect state scored on a scale going from 1 (very slightly or not at all) to 5 (extremely)	before to after 3 hour intervention
Sleepiness	measured with Karolinska Sleepiness Questionnaire; goes from 1 (extremely alert) to 9 (extremely sleepy)	before to after 3 hour intervention
Cognitive performance	nback cognitive test (time and accuracy)	before to after 3 hour intervention
Alertness	measured with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	before to after 3 hour intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
• Collaborators: The Knowledge Foundation; ICA-gruppen; Intrum AB; SATS; Monark Exercise; Itrim
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Maria Ekblom, PhD, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH)

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Heiland EG, Tarassova O, Fernstrom M, English C, Ekblom O, Ekblom MM. Frequent, Short Physical Activity Breaks Reduce Prefrontal Cortex Activation but Preserve Working Memory in Middle-Aged Adults: ABBaH Study. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Sep 16;15:719509. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.719509. eCollection 2021.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 13, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 13, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): March 13, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 15, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 21, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 23, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 15, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 12, 2022
• Last Verified: December 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: Dnr:2019-00998

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No