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The Effect of Increasing Levels of Exercise on Mental Performance a

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GEORGE H. MCGLYNN , NEIL T. LAUGHLIN & VIVIENNE ROWE

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Human Performance Laboratory , University of San Francisco , U.S.A Published online: 24 Oct 2007.

To cite this article: GEORGE H. MCGLYNN , NEIL T. LAUGHLIN & VIVIENNE ROWE (1979) The Effect of Increasing Levels of Exercise on Mental Performance, Ergonomics, 22:4, 407-414, DOI: 10.1080/00140137908924625 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140137908924625

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ERGONOMICS, 1979, VOL. 22, No.4, 407-414

The Effect of Increasing Levels of Exercise on Mental Performance By GEORGE H. MCGLYNN, NEIL T. LAUGHLIN AND VIVIENNE ROWE

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Human Performance Laboratory, University of San Francisco, U.S.A.

A line-matching test was given to 15 female subjects while exercising on a motor-driven treadmill. The accuracy and speed of each subject were recorded for four 3-min stages of exercise: stage 1,0'7 m S-1 at 10% gradient; stage 2,1'1 m S-1 at 12% gradient; stage 3, 1·52 m s- 1 at 14 % gradient; stage 4, 1·88 m s - 1 at 16 % gradient. Heart rate was recorded for each subject continually throughout the test. Increased levels of concomitant exercise had no significant effect on accuracy of performance and did not produce increased speed of mental performance, except in the last stage of exercise which differed significantly from the first three stages. Speed of performance in the post-test was also significantly greater than it was in the first three stages of exercise.

1. Introduction There is considerable evidlence concerning the effect of rigorous physical exercise on motor performance (Alderman 1965, Bender 1976, McAdam 1967). However, there has been little research on the relationship of physical exercise to various types of mental performance. Most studies in this area can be classified in four categories: those finding a beneficial relationship between exercise and performance, those finding a detrimental relationship, those finding both a beneficial and detrimental relationship and those finding no relationship.

1.1 Studies Finding a Beneficial Relationship There are a few studies which found a beneficial relationship between exercise and mental performance. Lybrand (1954) found that prior rigorous exercise facilitated performance on manipulative problem-solving and perceptual organization tasks. Burgess (1964) has shown that performance of digit-symbol substitution in an equal number of male and female subjects improved following mild exercise. McGlynn (1977) found that running on a treadmill at increasing speeds and gradients significantly improved the speed of male college students in performing a discrimination task, without impairing their accuracy.

1.2. Studies Finding a Detrimental Relationship Stauffacher (1937) has shown that concomitant exercise (lifting weights) caused a decrease in the performance of 40 college students in memorizing nonsense syllables. In his study, a linear relationship was shown between increasing intensities of exercise and performance. Other studies involving large muscle exertion concomitant with a mental task found performance most efficient at moderate exertion levels (Michael 1972, Purvis 1973). Gutin (1968b) found that addition by male college students was slightly worse following an exhaustive treadmill run than at rest. A study by Davey (1973a) which varied the duration of exercise prior to an addition task indicated that the optimum duration for prior exercise may be about twoto five minutes before the performance of that task.

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1.3. Studies Finding Both a Beneficial and Detrimental Relationship Davey (1973a) has used the term' level of activation' to describe the increased level of metabolic activity in the human body resulting from exercise. In another study (1973b), he found an inverted U relationship between physical exertion and the attention of male and female practice teachers. In other words, as activation increased, performance increased along with it up to a point; with further increased activation, performance decreased. Phillips (1962) also has shown that the relationship between activation and mental performance takes the shape of an inverted U. Several early studies found an inverted U curve between muscular tension and concomitant mental performance (Freeman 1933, Courts 1939, Shaw 1956, Deese 1962). Finally, the study by Burgess (1964) cited above also showed that an inverted U relationship exists between exercise and digit-symbol substitution. 1.4. Studies Finding No Relationship Several investigators have failed to find any effect of exercise on mental performance. Gutin (1968a) using a I and 5 mm step-up exercise, found that performance of simple addition was not significantly affected for 32 male subjects. McAdam (1967) testing 108male adults, found that mild run-jog-walk exercise had no significant effect on a symbol substitution task. In a test of the performance of 30 adolescent boys in addition and subtraction, Flynn (1972) found that prior exercise on a bicycle ergometer and aerobic capacity were not significantly related to numerical accuracy or speed. One problem with the studies to date concerning the effect of prior or concomitant exercise on mental performance is that physical workloads were not individualized; that is to say, all subjects in a given experimental group were always given the same exercise workload. A few studies had subjects exercise at pre-determined heart-rate levels; however, they did not determine where this heart-rate level fell in relationship to each individual's heart-rate range from resting to maximum. This is an essential requirement to determine the degree of stress on cardiovascular functioning. One way to individualize workloads would be to relate mental performance to the percentage of maximum heart-rate response to exercise. This would ensure a more reliable measure of the intensity of the exercise as determined by cardiac response. Karvonen (1957) has found that to improve the exercise tolerance of heart rate, the intensity of the workout must exceed a critical threshold level. The intensity of training may be expressed, also, as a percentage of the training pulse from the total range of heart rates from rest to the maximum attainable. He found 60 %of the range to be the critical level. Above this level training is effective; below this level training is ineffective. It may be possible that the factors responsible for producing a training effect on the heart as a result of intensive exercise also affect mental performance. The analysis of data which is a composite for an experimental group may not legitimately represent the fatigue pattern of those with low levels of cardiovascular endurance as well as those with high levels. One difficulty in studies of this kind is to determine what would be considered' strenuous' exercise. What may appear to one subject as a very strenuous exercise may be considered mild by another, depending on the cardiovascular condition of each. The only alternatives are to exercise each individual arbitrarily to exhaustion, which can be dangerous, or to prescribe increasing levels of intensity and to monitor each individual's cardiac response to the different levels of exercise load as they approach exhaustion. The latter method would seem to be more profitable. Another problem with previous studies concerning the effect of prior or con-

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comitant exercise on mental performance is that the subjects were almost always men. Indeed, a comprehensive search of the literature on exercise and mental performance yielded only six studies which included women as subjects. It may be that women respond to various kinds and intensities of exercise quite differently from men; on the other hand, it may not. At a time when women are participating in physical occupations and competitive sport in greatly increasing numbers, the need to examine the effect of exercise on the mental performance of women should be obvious. Mental performance is an integral part of complex motor skills and a prime determinant in the quality of motor performance. Common to most motor skills is physical fatigue resulting from intensive exercise. A better understanding of the relationship between mental performance and various intensities of exercise could be very useful. The purposes of this study are to determine the effect of various intensities of prior and concomitant exercise on the mental performance of women and the relationship of this performance with percentage of maximal heart rate.

2. Methods The subjects consisted of 15 female college students, ranging in age from eighteen to twenty-three and scoring above 50 cm ' kg- 1 min - 1 as determined by the Sharkey step-test (1974). The subjects were instructed to walk or jog on the motor-driven treadmill at increasing speeds and gradients. The exercise consisted of four continuous stages, each 3 min in duration: stage I, O·7 m s - 1 at 10% gradient; stage 2, 1·1 m s - 1 at 12% gradient; stage 3, 1·52 m S-1 at 14% gradient; stage 4, J ·88 m S-1 at 16% gradient. Each subject was shown in random order sixteen 35 mm transparencies projected on a screen placed 2 m in front of her and at eye level. Each slide showed 4 vertical black lines. On the left was a single line; on the right, three lines differing in length, numbered I, 2 and 3 in order. One of the three lines at the right was identical to the standard line at the left. The subjects were asked to identify verbally the matching line by calling out the corresponding number as quickly as possible. A new slide was projected immediately following the subject's response. The comparison lines differed from the standard by varying amounts and no attempt was made to maintain a constant ratio between them. On successive trials the line equal to the standard appears in different positions, the slides being shown to the subject in random order. This comparison technique is similar to that used by Asch (1952). The subjects were given the pre-test immediately before the commencement of stage I and the post-test immediately after the end of the fourth stage. Maximum heart rate was determined by the highest heart rate recorded at the end of stage 4. In pilot studies conducted on 200 subjects, it was determined that this level of exercise was a reliable measure of an individual's maximum heart rate. Resting heart rate was determined by having the individual record his heart rate on awakening each morning for 3 consecutive days and taking the average. To determine the percentage of maximum heart rate, Karvonen's method was utilized. For example, for a subject with a resting heart rate of 60 beats min - 1 and a maximum heart rate of 200 beats min -1, a heart rate of 158 beats min - 1 would be 70 % of MHR [60 + 0:70 x (200 - 60) = 158J. Heart rate was monitored by ECG with a standard VS exercise lead to an oscilloscope, connected to a cardiotachometer and high-speed recorder. The percentage of maximum heart rate was determined from the mean heart rate recorded during the last 2·5 min of each stage. The percentage of correct responses was determined by dividing the number of responses completed in each stage into the

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number of correct responses. The speed of each individual's response was determined by adding the number of responses completed during each 3-min stage.

3. Results Table \ presents the mean percentage of maximum heart rate for pre-test, stages I to 4. and the post-test, and the mean percentage of correct responses for the pre-test. stages I to 4, and the post-test. Table 2 presents the analysis of variance for the percentage of correct responses. As table 2 shows, the percentage of correct responses does not differ significantly across the six experimental conditions, indicating that increased levels of concomitant exercise had no significant effect on the accuracy of the subjects in performing discrimination tasks. Table I also shows the mean number of tasks completed for the pre-test, four stages ofexercise, and the post-test. A treatment by subjects ANOVA yielded a significant effect across all six experimental conditions (see table 3). Analysis of the differences between each condition was accomplished by ANOVA and every difference which attained the 0·05 level of significance is presented in table 3. As table 3 indicates, the subjects completed a significantly greater number of tasks in the post-test than they did in stages 1,2 and 3. The pre-test did not differ significantly from any other experimental condition although the differences between the pre-test and stages I and 2 approached significance (p = 0·\ 0).

Table I.

Means and Standard Deviations for Percentage of Maximum Heart Rate, Percentage or Correct Responses, and Number of Responses Completed Source

Percentage of maximum heart rate Pre-test Stage I

Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Post-test Percentage of correct responses Pre-test

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Post-test

Number of responses completed Pre-test

Stage I Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Post-test

X

SD

t8·54 47·64 58·87 74'01' 93'96 58·48

9·01 11·04 9·69 7·88 2·09 6·70

77-53 76·73 79·60 79·06 77-46 81·93

8·99 10·06 10·13 11·82 10·72 8·96

46·46 44·40 43-80 44·26 46·20 47·73

7-21 6·19 6·18 7·21 6·74 7-49

Table 2. Analysis of Variance of thePercentage of Correct Responses Source

Pre-test, Stages 1-4, Post-test Total Subjects T reatmen Is . Error

SS

df

557746·80 5686'18 272-18 2987·49

89 14 5

70

MS

F

p

54·44 42·68

1·28

NS

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Exercise Effect on Mental Performance Table 3.

Analysis of Variance for Number of Responses Completed

Source

Pre-test, Stages 1-4, Post-test Total Subjects Treatments Error Stage 4 with Stage 1

Total Subjects

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Treatments

Error Stage 4 with Stage 2 Total Subjects Treatments

Error Stage 4 with Stage 3 Total Subjects Treatments Error

Post-test with Stage I Total Subjects Treatments Error

Post-test with Stage 2 Total Subjects Treatments Error

Post-test with Stage 3 Total Subjects Treatments Error

SS

df

MS

F

p

186140·55 3358·27 180-45 589'68

89 14 5 70

3h·09

4·28

>0·005

61562·70 1111·79 24·29 60'19

89 14 1 14

24·29 4·29

5·65

>0·05

60750·00 1181·99 43·20 51·79

89 14 I 14

43-20 3-69

11·67

>0·005

61381·63 1322·87 28·03 40-46

89 14 28·03 2-89

9-69

>0·01

14

63664·13 1196·87 83·33 125·66

89 14 1 14

83·33 8·98

9·28

>0·01

62837-63 1200·86 116·03 120-47

89 14 I 14

116·03 8·60

13-49

>0·005

63480·00 1392-99 90-13 120·87

89 14 I 14

90·\3 8·63

10·44

>0-01

4.

I

8-42

Discussion

It is apparent from the findings that increasing levels of concomitant exercise do not significantly affect the accuracy of these subjects in performing discrimination tasks. What is not clear is the effect that increasing levels of concomitant exercise have on the speed of subjects in performing a discrimination task. There was no significant difference between the speed of performance of these subjects in the pre-test and posttest even though their percentage of maximum heart rate in the post-test was 31 % higher than it was in the pre-test. The fact that speed of performance in the pre-test was greater than in stages I and 2 (p = 0,10) suggests that concomitant exercise may cause an initial decrease in speed. However, when the workload was increased and mean heart rate reached 94 % of maximum as in stage 4, the speed of performance of these subjects significantly increased (stage 4 vs. 1,2 and 3) and reached a level equivalent to what it was in the pre-test. These results might be explained by Hebb's (1955) •neural noise' theory. Hebb contends that increased workloads may produce a wide variety of physiological responses (' neural noises') which interfere with an individual's ability to concentrate on mental tasks. The initial decline in the speed of performance of these subjects from pre-test to stages 1,2 and 3 might be attributable to •neural noise' and in stage 4 the

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subjects might be making physiological adjustments to the demands of concomitant exercise which enable them to return to pre-test levels. The presence of significant differences between stage 4 and stages 1,2 and 3 might also suggest that a practice effect is occurring. The presence of significant differences between the post-test and stages I, 2 and 3 is further indication of a practice effect. In almost the same experimental conditions as the present study, McGlynn (1977) found that concomitant exercise significantly increased' the speed of male subjects in performing discrimination tasks, without impairing their accuracy. In the present study the fact that increasing levels ofexercise did not significantly affect the accuracy of subjects provides additional evidence that concomitant exercise does not impair the ability of individuals to perform certain kinds of mental tasks. The fact that the speed of performance in the present study was less with concomitant exercise than it was in pre- and post-test conditions may suggest that the mental performance of women may be affected differently by concomitant exercise from that of men. In one of the few experiments examining relationships between exercise and mental performance which used women as subjects, Matova (1975) found that with increasing intensities of exercise female athletes were hampered by lower intensities than male athletes in their speed of solving basic addition and subtraction problems-Moreover, Borg (1967) has found that women react with a stronger response of perceived exertion for the same workload than men. When one considers that under almost the same experimental conditions the speed of performance of women in the present study varied in a number of ways from that of men in McGlynn's (1977) earlier research, it would be tempting to speculate that these variations could be attributed to the phenomenon that Borg describes. At any rate, because women rarely have been subjects in experiments involving exercise and mental performance, what appears obvious is that the effect of exercise on the mental performance of women needs to be examined in investigations comparing males and females under the same or similar experimental conditions. The results of this study differ markedly from those of Stockfelt (1973) who found that concomitant exercise caused a decrease in the accuracy of numerical performance, which he indicated was linearly related to increasing intensity ofexercise. In the present study, there was no significant change in accuracy throughout pre-test, four stages of exercise and post-test. These results are also at variance with Davey (1973a) who found that optimal mental performance was indicated after prior exercise 2 to 5 min in length and worsening performance after exercise of 6 to 15 min duration. The present findings also disagree with those of Phillips (1962) who has shown that the relationship of activation and mental performance takes the form of an inverted V-shaped curve. In the present study there was no indication of such a phenomenon either for accuracy or speed of performance. Deese (1962) has suggested that concomitant exercise which produces physiological changes in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems will negatively affect tasks requiring a great deal of vigilance. One might assume from Deese's study that by increasing the exercise load the resulting physiological responses would be magnified, thus producing progressive decrease in mental performance. The task in the present study required a very high degree of vigilance, yet no significant decrease in accuracy of performance was found as a result of increasing the physiological load. Gutin (l968b) found that mental performance was significantly worse following an exhaustive treadmill run than at rest. In the present study, accuracy did not differ significantly across pre-test, four stages of exercise and post-test, and the pre- and

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post-test for speed of performance did not differ significantly. These findings are somewhat contradictory to those of Gutin, but the subjects in the present study were required to respond concomitantly in stages 1--4, which would introduce a variable not found in Gutin's work. The present results, at least those concerning accuracy, seem to be in agreement with Flynn (1972) and McAdam (1967) who have indicated that prior exercise has no significant effect on certain types of intellectual tasks. It should be noted that the mental task utilized in these three studies were different and thus any comparisons drawn are somewhat tenuous. Burgess (1964) found that light concomitant exercise hinders performance. In the present study accuracy was not significantly different across pre-test, four stages of concomitant exercise and post-test. However, the subjects' mental performance was significantly slower in the first three stages of exercise where heart-rate level was comparatively low (48 %, 59 % and 74 %) than in the fourth stage of exercise where heart-rate level was comparatively high (94 %). The findings in the present study concerning accuracy appear to contradict Burgess' research, but those concerning speed might be construed as corroborative of his findings. 5.

Conclusions

It is important to point out that the mental tasks utilized in research to date are

greatly varied and the demands that they make on the central nervous system are extremely complex and little understood. Consequently, the degree to which each task is affected by exercise may vary considerably. The fact that this research examined a different mental task from those of most other studies and was one of the few studies which used women as subjects strongly suggests that a great deal more investigation with men and women is needed concerning different mental tasks and the analysis and classification of such tasks. Finally, there is a need for research concerning exercise and mental performance which specifically examines the application of findings to business and industry, especially where productivity in sedentary occupations can be improved by exercise and where loss of mental acuity due to vigorous physical labour might adversely affect safety. For example, if it can be clearly demonstrated that speed of mental performance is increased by exercise without a decrease in accuracy, exercise programmes might be offered during break times and employees encouraged to participate in such programmes. An 15 weiblichen Versuchspersonen wurde als mentaJe Arbeitsaufgabe ein' Linien-Vergleichstest parallel zum Gehen auf einer Tretbahn durchgeflihrt. Die Genauigkeit und die Gescbwindigkeit jeder Versuchsperson wurden fur 4 3-minUtige Arbeitsstufen aufgezeichnet: Stufe 1.0'7 ms " I mit 10% Steigun.¥; Stufe 2,1'1 rns " mit 12% Steigung, Stufe 3,1'52 ms " mit 14% Steigung; Stufe 4,1·88 ms-' mit 16% Steigung. Die Herzschlagfrequenz wurde fur jede Versuchsperson kontinuierlich wahrend des Tests aufgezeichnet. Eine Erhohung der gleichzeitig ausgeflihrten korperlichen Arbeit hatte keinen signifikanten Etfekt auf die Genauigkeit der Leistungserbringung und fuhrte nicht zu einer erhohten informatorischen Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit ausgenommen die letzte Arbeitsstufe, welche sich signifikant von den ersten 3 Stufen unterschied. Die Arbeitsgeschwindigkeit im nachher-Test war ebenfalls signifikant grofier aJs in den ersten 3 Stufen der Arbeitsbelastung. Un test de comparaison de lignes a etc propose a 15 sujets feminins landis quils marchaient sur un tapis roulant. La rapidite et la precision ont ete mesurees pour chaque sujet au cours de quatre periodes de 3 ron: periode I (vitesse 0,7 m.s" avec une pente de 10%), periode 2 (1,1 rn.s " et 12%), periode 3 (1,52 m.s" et 14%) et periode 4 (l ,88 m.s- I et 16%). La frequence cardiaque a ete enregistree en continuo Le fait d'effectuer un travail physique concomitant a niveaux de charge croissants ri'avait pas d'etfet significatif sur la rapidite et la precision des performances, sauf pour la derniere periode de travail qui differait significativement des trois autres periodes, La vitesse dans un test consecutif etait egalement significativemcnt plus elevee que durant les trois premieres periodes de l'exercice physique.

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Exercise Effect on Mental Performance References

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Manuscript received 10 January 1978. Revised Manuscript received 4 April 1978.

The effect of increasing levels of exercise on mental performance.

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