Effects of Acute Exercise on Cognitive Performance in Active Young Adults: A Randomized Trial Using Online Measures

Abstract

While acute exercise enhances cognitive performance, comparative effects of different maximal-effort exercise modalities remain unclear. This randomised crossover trial examined the differential cognitive impacts of graded maximal aerobic versus supramaximal exercise in active young adults. Forty-two participants (mean age = 24 ± 2 years) completed a progressive treadmill test to volitional exhaustion and a 30-s Wingate test, separated by ≥ 24-h washout. Cognition was assessed immediately before and 5 minutes post-exercise using computerized reaction time and Stroop tasks. Significant Time × Condition interactions revealed superior improvements following supramaximal exercise for simple reaction time (F (1,41) = 5.04, p = .030, ηp² = 0.11) and incongruent Stroop performance (F (1,41) = 5.75, p = .021, ηp² = 0.12). Supramaximal exercise produced 12.4 % improvement in reaction time versus 7.2 % for graded aerobic, and 12.8 % improvement in incongruent Stroop versus 7.6 % for graded aerobic. Congruent trials and interference scores showed no significant differences. These findings challenge the assumed superiority of aerobic exercise and demonstrate that brief supramaximal exercise elicits greater acute cognitive benefits than prolonged graded maximal exercise in physically active young adults.

Keywords

cognitive performance executive function reaction time supramaximal exercise stroop task exercise intensity

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