Effects of acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive function in E-athletes: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: E-sports require athletes to have high-speed reflexes and excellent memory skills. Whereas a single session of aerobic exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function, this paper aims is to investigate the effects of acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on the cognitive function of e-sports players and its time-course characteristics. METHODS: Thirty-four E-athletes were divided into 2 groups according to a random number table method, and 2 trials in a quiet physical fitness gym. The duration of each trial was approximately 1 hour. In the first trial: exercise group (64–76% of maximum heart rate for 30 minutes power cycling) and control group, cognitive function was tested, and results were automatically recorded before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after exercise using the human benchmark website (https://humanbenchmark.com). The second trial crossed and swapped the interventions of the 2 groups, and the other test protocols were the same as the first. RESULTS: In both trials, the exercise intervention group showed significant improvements in speed accuracy (P < .001, Cohen’s d = 1.406, 95% CI: 0.717–2.072; P = .005, Cohen’s d = 0.782, 95% CI: 0.227–1.319), visual memory (P < .001, Cohen’s d = 1.416, 95% CI: 0.725–2.086; P = .015, Cohen’s d = 0.662, 95% CI: 0.127–1.181), and reaction time (P < .001, Cohen’s d = 1.265, 95% CI: 0.610–1.898; P<.001, Cohen’s d = 0.979, 95% CI: 0.386–1.551) immediately after exercise compared to baseline. The exercise intervention group also showed significant improvement in speed accuracy 30 minutes after exercise compared to baseline (P = .002 Cohen’s d = 0.869, 95% CI: 0.298–1.421; P = .009, Cohen’s d = 0.722, 95% CI: 0.177–1.249). In the first trial, the exercise intervention group showed significant improvements in visual memory and reaction time immediately after exercise compared to the control group (P = .013, Cohen’s d = 0.904, 95% CI: 0.190–1.605; P = .027, Cohen’s d = 0.796, 95% CI: 0.090–1.490). The exercise intervention group also showed significant improvement in reaction time 30 minutes after exercise compared to baseline (P = .009, Cohen’s d = 0.719, 95% CI: 0.174–1.246). There was no effect of exercise on sequence memory or the chimp test in both trials (P > .05). Sequence effect analysis showed no influence on the order of the exercise intervention in both trials (P = .912; P = .111; P = .226). CONCLUSION: Acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise significantly enhanced the speed accuracy, visual reaction time, and instantaneous memory of eSports players, and the effect could be extended up to 30 minutes after exercise.