Abstract
Regular exercise is a well-known preventative measure against a multitude of mental and physical health issues. Despite this many of the world’s population do not currently engage in the recommended amount of physical activity. Chronic exercise (i.e., exercise repeated on multiple occasions over a prolonged period) has been identified as a key factor in driving biological mechanisms that improve cognitive performance and affect in most age groups. However, there is currently a poverty of relevant research in young adults. To address this, the current research investigated the effects of a running intervention on neuropsychological function in young adults. It was predicted that following a running intervention, participant’s neuropsychological performance would improve in line with increases in aerobic fitness. Thirty-two healthy and sedentary young adults were recruited from the University of Otago and randomised into either an intervention or control group, with the intervention group (n = 24) asked to run three times a week for 30 minutes at a time and the control group (n = 8) asked to remain sedentary over a 6-week period. Cognitive flexibility, visuospatial and verbal short-term memory and visuospatial and verbal working memory were tested at baseline and follow up, as well as positive and negative affect. The environmental conditions of the exercise and the participant’s enjoyment of the running were also recorded. For the most part repeated measures ANCOVAs failed to find significant effects on the neuropsychological measures or improvements in fitness after the running intervention. An improvement was observed in the runner group’s verbal working memory, although this cannot be related to improved fitness as was hypothesised. Whilst some interesting avenues for further research were identified relating to environment and enjoyment, overall the running intervention proved ineffective. Potential improvements to the design of the study are discussed, such as the use of a maximal fitness test, technology and targeting full-time workers who may have less access to exercise facilities.