Two-Weeks of Sprint Interval Training Improves Selective Attention in University Students

RICARTE, A.; DE SOUSA, ARILSON F. M.; BENITEZ-FLORES, STEFANO; DEL ROSSO, SEBASTIAN; STULTS-KOLEHMAINEN, MATTHEW; BOULLOSA, DANIEL

Congreso; 22th Congress of the European College of Sports Sciences; 2017

European College of Sports Sciences

Introduction: Sprint interval training (SIT) has been shown to be associated with positive changes in aerobic capacity (Gist et al., 2014). Previous studies have suggested that improvement of aerobic fitness has a positive influence on cognitive function, including components of attention such as inhibitory control and selective attention (Guiney & Machado et al., 2013). Meanwhile, the relationship between exercise paradigms, such as SIT, and attention has not been elucidated yet. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of two weeks of SIT on attention in university students. Methods: Seventy-two university students were recruited to participate in the study. Participants were divided into an experimental group (EG) and control group (CG) groups. SIT sessions were conducted with a cicloergometer [4 × 30 s of ?all-out? efforts, interspersed with active rests of 4 min (no load)]. Participants must reach >90% of maximal heart rate. Also, only individuals who completed at least 85% of workouts were included in the analysis. The final distribution of the samples was EG (n=26, 13 women, age=23.46 ± 5.13 yrs) and CG (n=19, 9 women, age= 25.05 ± 4.40 yrs). Components of attention (alerting, orienting, conflict) were assessed using the Attention Network Test (ANT) before and after two weeks (6 sessions of ~ 20 min) of training with SIT. The warm-up (5 min at 50-150 W) in the first and the last session was used to estimate VO2max with the Åstrand nomogram. Group comparisons were made using a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: Only EG exhibited significant improvements in VO2max from baseline (EG = 36.94±8.59 vs. CG= 37.90±8.94 mL/kg/min) to post-training (EG = 41.06±6.42 vs. control CG= 38.47±9.53 mL/kg/min). There was a significant difference for the time factor [F(1,43)=10.23; p= .00; n2= .19] and an interaction between factors time and group [F(1,43)=6.74; p= .01; n2= .14] for the Conflict component of the ANT (related to inhibitory control and selective attention) revealing an improvement in this aspect of attention after the training period. Discussion: Two weeks of SIT improved attention and aerobic fitness in university students. The results of the current investigation suggest that this exercise model may have led to neurobiological adaptations in only two weeks for cognitive processes related to inhibitory control and selective attention.