Frequent, Short Physical Activity Breaks Reduce Prefrontal Cortex Activation but Preserve Working Memory in Middle-Aged Adults: ABBaH Study

Emerald G Heiland, Olga Tarassova, Maria Fernström, Coralie English, Örjan Ekblom, Maria M Ekblom, Emerald G Heiland, Olga Tarassova, Maria Fernström, Coralie English, Örjan Ekblom, Maria M Ekblom

Abstract

Prolonged sitting is increasingly common and may possibly be unfavorable for cognitive function and mood. In this randomized crossover study, the effects of frequent, short physical activity breaks during prolonged sitting on cognitive task-related activation of the prefrontal cortex were investigated. The effects on working memory, psychological factors, and blood glucose were also examined, and whether arterial stiffness moderated prefrontal cortex activation. Thirteen subjects (mean age 50.5 years; eight men) underwent three 3-h sitting conditions, interrupted every 30-min by a different 3-min break on separate, randomized-ordered days: seated social interactions (SOCIAL), walking (WALK), or simple resistance activities (SRA). Arterial stiffness was assessed at baseline. Before and after each 3-h condition, psychological factors (stress, mood, sleepiness, and alertness) were assessed through questionnaires and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure changes in prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb), indicative of cortical activation, while performing working memory tasks [1- (baseline), 2-, and 3-back]. Blood glucose levels were continuously measured throughout the conditions. Results revealed no significant changes in Oxy-Hb during the 2-back compared with the 1-back test in any condition, and no time-by-condition interactions. During the 3-back test, there was a significant decrease in Oxy-Hb compared with the 1-back after the WALK condition in the right prefrontal cortex, but there were no time-by-condition interactions, although 3-back reaction time improved only in the WALK condition. Mood and alertness improved after the WALK condition, which was significantly different from the SOCIAL condition. Arterial stiffness moderated the effects, such that changes in Oxy-Hb were significantly different between WALK and SOCIAL conditions only among those with low arterial stiffness. Blood glucose during the interventions did not differ between conditions. Thus, breaking up prolonged sitting with frequent, short physical activity breaks may reduce right prefrontal cortex activation, with improvements in some aspects of working memory, mood, and alertness. Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT04137211.

Keywords: cerebral blood flow; cognition; exercise; functional near-infrared spectroscopy; sedentary.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Copyright © 2021 Heiland, Tarassova, Fernström, English, Ekblom and Ekblom.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Change in oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) during 1-back, 2-back, and 3-back cognitive tasks from pre-test to post-test, in the whole prefrontal cortex (A) and separated by left (B) and right (C) hemisphere. CI, confidence interval; SOCIAL, social break condition; WALK, walking break condition; SRA, simple resistance activity break condition. *Significant differences within conditions or compared to the baseline (1-back), q-values ≤ 0.05 (FDR-adjusted p-values for multiple comparisons).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) in the left and right prefrontal cortex among those with (A) high arterial stiffness (n = 7) and (B) low arterial stiffness (n = 6), during the 1-back, 2-back, and 3-back tasks from pre-test to post-test. CI, confidence interval; SOCIAL, social break condition; WALK, walking break condition; SRA, simple resistance activity break condition. *Significant differences within conditions or compared to the baseline (1-back), q-values ≤ 0.05 (FDR-adjusted p-values for multiple comparisons).

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