Effectiveness of a Single Prolonged Aerobic Exercise Session on Executive Function Task Performance in Physically Active Adults (21–70 Years of Age)

We sought to examine the effectiveness of an acute prolonged exercise session on post-exercise executive function in physically active adults and to assess if age or pre-exercise cognitive performance was predictive of the magnitude of change in executive task performance. Self-registered cyclists were recruited prior to participating in a 161-km mass-participation cycling event. Cyclists were excluded if they had not previously participated in a similar endurance event, were young (<18 y), or were cognitively impaired (Mini Cog(TM) < 3 units). Immediately after completing the exercise session, the time taken to complete Trail Making Test Part A and Part B (TMT A + B) was assessed. A faster time to complete the TMT A + B was observed after exercise (+8.5%; p = 0.0003; n = 62; age range = 21–70 y). The magnitude of change in TMT A + B performance (pre vs. post) was influenced by pre-exercise TMT A + B performance (r(2) = 0.23, p < 0.0001), not age (r(2) =0.002; p = 0.75). Prolonged exercise had a small-to-moderate effect on post-exercise compared to pre-exercise executive function task performance (Cohen’s d = 0.38–0.49). These results support the effectiveness of a single prolonged exercise bout to augment executive function in physically active adults, irrespective of age.