- Title
- The acute effects of physical activity on adolescents’ mental health and cognition: an exploration of moderators
- Creator
- Wade, Levi
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Background: Adolescence marks an important developmental period of rapid changes to mental and cognitive capabilities. There is an opportunity for behavioural interventions to influence mental health and cognition during this period, which may have positive implications for both current and future health. Increasing physical activity is an effective means of improving both mental health and cognition, though research with adolescents is limited. Further, the influence of many potential moderators of the effect of physical activity on mental health and cognition are not yet fully understood. findings of the review indicate a need for more consistent reporting of the psychometric properties of cognitive tests used in experimental research. The investigation into the moderating role of physical activity context found that the presence of nature in the physical activity environment appears to provide no additional benefit to mental health or cognition in the study sample. Regarding the influence of acute physical activity type, yoga practice may reduce stress and improve selective attention to a greater extent than aerobic and resistance exercise. Concerning the moderating influence of acute physical activity intensity, four-minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity was found to improve selective attention and classroom behaviour, with higher intensity providing no further benefit. The findings of this thesis provide a novel contribution towards a greater understanding of moderators of the acute effects of physical activity on cognition and mental health in adolescents. Objectives: The overarching aim of this thesis is to investigate potential moderators (specifically, context, type, and intensity of activity) of the acute effects of physical activity on adolescents’ mental health and cognition. To achieve this, the thesis includes four distinct, yet complementary studies organised as separate chapters. Chapters 3 to 6 describe these studies in detail. Chapter 3: A systematic review of cognitive assessment in physical activity research involving children and adolescents Chapter 3 describes a systematic review of cognitive tests used in experimental physical activity research with children and adolescents. The review included 109 studies within which 60 unique cognitive tests were used. Information on the administration requirements, validity, and reliability were extracted. The extracted information was used to identify the cognitive tests used in this field, along with their reported psychometric properties and administration characteristics. The review identified a distinct lack of reporting of administration time and psychometric properties of the included tests. It was recommended that agreement on a smaller set of cognitive tests be sought to improve the comparability and interpretability of future research. Chapter 4: The impact of exercise environments on adolescents’ cognitive and psychological outcomes: A randomised controlled trial Although exercising in natural environments has been shown to benefit several psychological and cognitive outcomes, it is unclear whether these effects are influenced by the amount of nature present in the exercise environment. Chapter 4 describes a study whereby adolescents (n = 90; mean age = 14.3 ± .05 years) were randomised to one of four conditions: a non-exercise control, indoor exercise, park exercise, or exercise in a nature reserve. Each exercise condition used the same exercise protocol (lasting approximately 20 minutes) with only the amount of nature in each location varying. The results showed the indoor exercise group increased sustained attention accuracy compared to the park exercise group. There were no group-by-time effects on working memory. The indoor and nature exercise groups increased cognitive arousal compared to control. The mixed findings of this study did not support the hypothesis that the amount of nature in the exercise environment influences psychological or cognitive outcomes. Chapter 5: Comparison of the acute effects of yoga versus combined aerobic and resistance exercise on adolescents’ selective attention and stress: A randomised controlled trial Research on the acute psychological and cognitive benefits of exercise is dominated by aerobic activities. There is emerging evidence that yoga practice may also provide acute benefits to mental health and cognition, though there has been little research with healthy adolescent populations. Chapter 5 describes a study where a sample of adolescents (n = 55; mean age = 15.6 ± 0.5 years) was recruited and randomised into one of three conditions: a non-exercise control, a session of yoga, or a session of aerobic and resistance exercise. The results showed the yoga group outperformed the aerobic and resistance exercise group in selective attention processing speed, and had reductions in stress that were greater than both the aerobic and resistance, and control groups. These results suggest a single session of yoga may improve adolescents’ selective attention and stress to a greater extent than a single bout of aerobic and resistance exercise. Chapter 6: Influence of the intensity of classroom movement breaks on adolescents’ attention and on-task behaviour: a cluster RCT Classroom-based physical activity has been utilised in primary schools as an effective means of improving classroom behaviour, though it has been largely ineffective in improving cognition. The influence of physical activity intensity may provide some explanation for these null effects, though it has rarely been examined. Further, it is unclear whether classroom-based physical activity is effective for improving either classroom behaviour or cognition when delivered in secondary schools. Chapter 6 describes a study whereby 61 students (mean age 12.3 ± 0.5) were randomised to either a: non-exercise control, vigorous-intensity exercise, or near-maximal intensity exercise. Each condition lasted approximately four-minutes. The results showed both physical activity conditions improved selective attention and classroom behaviour, relative to the control group. However, intensity beyond that of the vigorous-intensity group provided no further benefit to these outcomes. Conclusion: There are many aspects of physical activity that may moderate effects on adolescents’ mental health and cognition. The identification of the characteristics of physical activity that have the greatest psychological and cognitive effects is important for the design and implementation of efficacious physical activity programs. This thesis has provided a systematic review of cognitive assessment in experimental physical activity research with children and adolescents, and examined the moderating role of context, type, and intensity on the acute effects of physical activity on adolescents’ cognition and mental health. The findings of the review indicate a need for more consistent reporting of the psychometric properties of cognitive tests used in experimental research. The investigation into the moderating role of physical activity context found that the presence of nature in the physical activity environment appears to provide no additional benefit to mental health or cognition in the study sample. Regarding the influence of acute physical activity type, yoga practice may reduce stress and improve selective attention to a greater extent than aerobic and resistance exercise. Concerning the moderating influence of acute physical activity intensity, four-minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity was found to improve selective attention and classroom behaviour, with higher intensity providing no further benefit. The findings of this thesis provide a novel contribution towards a greater understanding of moderators of the acute effects of physical activity on cognition and mental health in adolescents.
- Subject
- physical activity; adolescents; mental health; cognition; thesis by publication
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1513426
- Identifier
- uon:56719
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Levi Wade
- Language
- eng
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