Acute Effects of Aerobic Exercise Types on Affect and Cognition after a Stressor
Aneela Qadir, Misty Hawkins PhD, Joel Hughes PhD
Psychology Department, Kent State University, Kent Ohio
Introduction
Figure 1. Change in Heart Rate Across Time for Each Condition
100
Ø  However, the differential effects of specific types of aerobic
exercise on affect and cognitive function are unclear.
Ø  Hypothesis: The two forms of aerobic exercise will have
independent psychological and physiological effects on affect and
cognition from one another and from the control group.
•  HR Δ: F(2,41) = 45.27, p < 0.001
•  Vigor Δ: F(2, 41) = 4.62, p = 0.02
•  Cognition Δ (Attention, % Correct): F(2,37) = 5.44, p = 0.008
80
70
Heart Rate
Ø  We compared the effects of two types of aerobic exercise (highintensity interval training; HIIT and endurance training; ET) versus
a control group on affect and cognition following a stressful event.
90
60
HIIT
ET
Control
50
40
20
10
0
Demographics
Mean ±SD (Range) or N(%)
Age
Female
Athlete
Body fat (%)
Height (in)
Resting HR (beats per min)
Resting SBP
Resting DBP
Baseline Affect
Baseline Vigor
Baseline Attention (% correct)
Baseline Reaction Time (ms)
20.3 ± 1.7
24 (54.5)
19 (43.2)
20.3 ± 7.6
66.3 ± 4.1
73.3 ± 12.1
113.7 ± 12.9
66.7 ± 7.1
52.2 ± 1.6
74.0 ± 1.8
93.2 ± 9.0
346.1 ± 309.1
Baseline
52.5
52
51.5
50.5
50
49.5
49
Stressor task: participants were instructed to prepare and deliver a
three minute impromptu speech while being “videotaped.”
Random Assignment to one of three Conditions:
1.) High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
2.) Endurance Training (ET)
3.) Control condition
Participants completed one of two different 20 minute online
exercise videos of high aerobic effort or watched a 20 minute
relaxation video with scenic images and non-verbal music.
Mood Measure: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Cognition Measure: Automated Neuropsychological Assessment
Metric (ANAM-IV) 2-Choice Attention Test & Simple Reaction Time Test
77
76
75
HIIT
ET
Control
74
73
72
71
70
Baseline
Stressor
Baseline
Post-Intervention
Figure 4. Change in Cognition Across Time for Each Condition
98
Attention (% Correct ANAM)
Procedures
HIIT
ET
Control
51
Note. HR = Heart Rate. SBP = Systolic Blood Pressure, DBP = Diastolic Blood Pressure.
Figure 3. Change in Vigor Across Time for Each Condition
78
53
48.5
SBP Δ : F(2, 40) = 0.57, p = 0.57
DBP Δ = F(2,40) = 2.54, p = 0.09
Post-Intervention Affect Recovery Δ : F(2,41) = 0.74, p = 0.48
Cognition Δ (Reaction Time): F(2,38) = 0.78, p = 0.47
Post-Intervention
Figure 2. Change in Affect Across Time for Each Condition
Positive Affect (VAS)
Participants were university students at Kent State.
Table 1. Demographics of Participants (N = 41)
No significant condition effects detected for the following
study variables:
•
•
•
•
30
Method
Significant one-way ANOVA results examining the effect
of condition on study variables were as follows:
Vigor (energy alertness VAS)
Ø  Aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce stress.
Results
Stressor
Post-Intervention
Discussion
Finding 1: In relation to the control condition, both exercise conditions
increased heart rate from baseline to post-intervention.
96
94
HIIT
ET
Control
92
90
Finding 2:
a.  There was a significant decrease in positive affect across all
conditions due to the stressor, however, there were no between
group differences in the response to the stressor.
b.  All conditions recovered equally from the stressor, returning to
baseline after the interventions.
Finding 3: Both exercise conditions had an increase in vigor after the
interventions, in relation to control.
88
86
Baseline
Post-Intervention
Finding 4: Endurance training condition yielded improvements in
attention (% correct), as compared to the other groups.