Effects of Acute Exercise on Concentration Performances

All types of exercise were effective in increasing or maintaining global cognition and neuroplasticity in areas of the brain associated with executive function and memory in elderly individuals, irrespective of their health status. In general, learning and memory require concentration; however, the direct impact of physical exercise on concentration skills has not yet been clarified. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of acute exercise on concentration. Eighteen healthy young adults were included in this study. Exercise habits were assessed prior to the experiment. The experiment consisted of two conditions: exercised and non-exercised. The participants were asked to perform 100 squats at a pace of approximately 2 s each as aerobic-resistance exercise during the exercise condition and were asked to rest with their eyes closed and without thinking for 5 min during the rest condition. The Trail Making Test was performed under pre- and post-conditions. The number of incorrect responses, execution times, and pencil releases were recorded. Additionally, blood pressure, pulse rate, and blood oxygen concentration were measured both before and after the exercise to confirm the exercise load. Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test was used to examine changes in biological responses and concentration performance between the pre- and post-conditions. The systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, and blood oxygen concentration increased significantly after exercise. However, no improvement in concentration performance was observed in both conditions. This result may be due to factors such as the intensity of exercise. Further research with adjusted exercise intensity is needed to clarify the phenomenon and discuss further.