Do Short Bouts of Intense Exercise Have an Effect on Memory Scores in Collegiate Aged Men and Women

PURPOSE:The main purpose of the study was to find if short bouts of intense exercise had an effect on short term memory test scores. A secondary purpose was determining if any differences existed between males and females.... [ view full abstract ]

PURPOSE:The main purpose of the study was to find if short bouts of intense exercise had an effect on short term memory test scores. A secondary purpose was determining if any differences existed between males and females. METHODS: The participants (n= 12; 7 males and 5 females) completed an immediate free recall test. They then completed a 2 minute warm up jog on a treadmill. Immediately following the warm up the participants completed a 3 minute bout of intense exercise, and then cooled down for a maximum of 2 minutes. Immediately following the cool down participants completed another free recall test. RESULTS: Women remembered an average of 5.4 words on the pre-test compared to 5.6 words on the post-test; on the other hand, on average men remembered 6 words during the pre-test as compared to 5.7 during the post-test. As a whole the participants remembered 5.75 words on the pre-test and 5.67 words on the post-test. No significant differences between pre and post testing were found when looking at the group as a whole (p=0.897), or when comparing genders (p=0.444). These data suggest the exercise had no impact on short term memory of the participant. CONCLUSION: In previous research, exercise has been shown to increase memory scores on immediate free recall tests. The results of this study showed no significant gains in short term memory after short bouts of intense exercise. Further testing is needed to ensure the validity of these convenience sample results.