Physical activity and cognitive function in young people: key moderating variables and a spotlight on The Daily Mile

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Hatch, LM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0386-4926, 2022. Physical activity and cognitive function in young people: key moderating variables and a spotlight on The Daily Mile. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Although there is growing evidence that physical activity has a beneficial effect on cognitive function in young people, evidence is lacking regarding the extent to which the duration of a physical activity influences the acute physical activity-cognition relationship. Moreover, few studies have utilised high-intensity intermittent physical activity, despite evidence that this modality is ecologically valid and enjoyed by young people. Furthermore, there is a paucity of research on The Daily Mile, which is a practically viable school-based physical activity intervention that is currently being implemented in >9,000 schools in the UK. Despite this widespread uptake, there is a lack of research on the activity patterns of children during participation in The Daily Mile, as well as the subsequent effects on cognitive function, body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness. Therefore, this thesis examines how physical activity duration moderates the subsequent effects on cognition, the activity patterns of children participating in The Daily Mile, the acute and chronic effects of participation in The Daily Mile on cognition, alongside the chronic effects of participation in The Daily Mile on body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness in young people.

In the present thesis (Chapters IV, VI & VII), cognitive function was measured using three computerised cognitive function tests, which were administered via a laptop. Specifically, the Stroop test (which assesses attention and inhibitory control), the Sternberg paradigm (which assesses visual working memory), and the Flanker task (which assessed attention and inhibitory control), were utilised to provide a holistic view of cognitive function.

The first experimental chapter (Chapter IV) examined the acute effect of differing durations of high-intensity intermittent running on cognitive function in young people (n = 38, 23 girls, 12.4 ± 0.4 y). Participants completed three trials separated by 7 d: 30 min physical activity, 60 min physical activity, and rest; in a randomised crossover design. The physical activity was a modified version of the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST), which elicited high-intensity intermittent running and enabled other physical activity characteristics (e.g. intensity and modality) to be controlled. Cognitive function was measured 30 min pre, immediately post, and 45 min postphysical activity. The main findings were that response times on an inhibitory control task improved to a greater extent 45 min following the 30 min LIST, compared to rest (p = 0.009). Moreover, response times on the one-item working memory task tended to improve to a greater extent 45 min following the 60 min LIST, compared to rest (p = 0.069, d = 0.069). However, response times improved to a greater extent on the three-item working memory task 45 min following the 30 min LIST, compared to the 60 min LIST (p = 0.002, d = 0.41) and rest (p = 0.013, d = 0.29). In conclusion, acute exercise enhanced subsequent cognition in adolescents. Overall, 30 min of high-intensity intermittent running is more favourable to adolescents’ cognition, when compared to 60 min. This was the first dose-response within-subjects study to directly compare the effects of differing durations of physical activity on cognitive function in young people.

The second experimental chapter (Chapter V) examined the activity patterns (e.g., total distance covered and distance covered in age-specific speed zones) and physiological responses (average and peak heart rate) of children (n = 72, 38 girls, 10.4 ± 0.7 y) during participation in The Daily Mile. Moreover, cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using the Multi-Stage Fitness Test and differences in both activity patterns and physiological responses between cardiorespiratory fitness quartiles and sexes were examined. The main findings were that participants covered an average distance of 2511 ± 550 m during The Daily Mile, and heart rate was 163 ± 27 beats.min- 1. Moreover, participants travelled the furthest distance, and were most intermittent, during the first 5 min (both p < 0.001, d > 0.83). Boys ran further and their activity was more intermittent compared to girls (both p < 0.001, d > 0.80). Moreover, the highest fit children ran further than less fit children (p < 0.001, d > 0.25), however there was no difference in relative exercise intensity (average or peak heart rate) between children of varying fitness levels (p = 0.41). This study provided novel evidence that children covered, on average, 1.5 miles and exercised at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity during The Daily Mile. Furthermore, whilst boys and higher-fit children covered a greater distance than girls and lower-fit children, children of all fitness levels exercised at a similar relative intensity. The Daily Mile is thus an inclusive physical activity which makes a valuable contribution to in-school physical activity targets for all children.

The third experimental chapter (Chapter VI) examined the acute effects of The Daily Mile on cognitive function. It was also the first study to explore children’s enjoyment of participation in the initiative. Participants (n = 104, 48 girls, 10.4 ± 0.7 years) completed a Daily Mile trial and a resting control trial in a randomised, counterbalanced order. Cognitive function was measured prior to, immediately following and 45 min following The Daily Mile and resting. Additionally, a sub-sample of children (n = 87) took part in focus groups to explore factors affecting their enjoyment of The Daily Mile. The main findings were that, whilst there was no statistically significant effects of The Daily Mile on cognition (all p > 0.05), accuracy in the working memory (p = 0.073) and inhibitory control (p = 0.057) tasks tended to improve immediately following The Daily Mile, compared to resting. Moreover, children enjoyed participating in The Daily Mile, particularly due to its outdoor location, social context, and self-paced nature. However, some children found The Daily Mile boring due to its repetitive nature.

The final experimental chapter (Chapter VII) examined the effect of chronic (5.5 weeks) participation in The Daily Mile on children’s (n = 35, 18 girls, 11.1 ± 0.5 y) activity patterns during The Daily Mile, cognitive function, body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness. The main findings were that the intervention group, compared to the control group, tended to present both faster response times (p = 0.063) and higher accuracy (p = 0.068) on the attention task at followup. Moreover, whilst there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control group at follow-up in body mass, BMI z-score, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio or sum of skinfolds (all p > 0.05), BMI was lower (p = 0.016, d = 0.10) in the intervention group compared to the control group at follow-up. Furthermore, whilst there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control group at follow-up in cardiorespiratory fitness (p = 0.249), average heart rate (p = 0.037, d = 1.19) and peak heart rate (p = 0.015, d = 1.05) during The Daily Mile at follow-up were higher in the intervention compared to the control group. This is the first study to examine the chronic effects of The Daily Mile on attention, which tended to improve following participation for five and a half weeks. This is also the first study to demonstrate that improvements to body composition can be gained from five and a half weeks of participation in The Daily Mile.

In summary, the present thesis provides novel contributions to the literature with the following key findings: i) Duration is a significant moderator in the acute physical activity-cognition relationship, with 30 min compared to 60 min of high-intensity intermittent running – which is an ecologically valid form of activity in young people – leading to greater post-activity enhancements in cognitive function; ii) The Daily Mile is an enjoyable and inclusive physical-activity intervention that contributes to in-school physical activity targets; iii) Acute and chronic (5.5 weeks) participation in The Daily Mile tends to enhance cognitive function; iv) BMI scores are improved from five and a half weeks of participation in The Daily Mile, however other aspects of body composition (waistto- hip ratio, skinfolds) and cardiorespiratory fitness are not. In summary, the findings of this thesis show that a shorter duration (30 min vs 60 min) of high intensity intermittent running leads to immediate and prolonged (45 min post activity) enhancements in cognitive function in young people; this information is valuable to school staff and policy makers who are keen to implement physical activity in school, but frequently highlight time constraints as a barrier to implementation. The present thesis also demonstrates that The Daily Mile is a worthwhile addition to a comprehensive whole-school approach to physical activity; however additional research is needed to examine whether further enhancements to cognition can be gained from longer duration implementation of the initiative (e.g., across a school year).

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Hatch, L.M.
Date:	February 2022
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this Nottingham Trent University work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	15 Nov 2022 12:07
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2022 12:07
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/47407