Acute moderate-intensity exercise improves 24-h sleep deprivation-induced cognitive decline and cerebral oxygenation: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

Publication date: Available online 3 December 2019Source: Respiratory Physiology & NeurobiologyAuthor(s): Sho Kojima, Tomoya Abe, Shinichiro Morishita, Yuta Inagaki, Weixiang Qin, Kazuki Hotta, Atsuhiro TsubakiAbstractWe evaluated the effects of moderate-intensity exercise in improving the decline in cognitive performance induced by a 24-h period of acute sleep deprivation (SD). We hypothesized that the positive effect of exercise is mediated by increased oxygenation (measured using near-infrared spectroscopy) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Cognitive performance was measured using the reaction time and interference scores of the Stroop colour and word test, in 12 healthy adults (eight males, 21.1 ± 0.3 years-old), at pre- and post-exercise. Cognitive scores were compared under two conditions: rested wakefulness (RW) and 24-h SD. The exercise consisted of 20-min of ergometer cycling at an intensity of 60 % VO2peak. Oxygenation to the DLPFC increased, at 12 min after exercise onset, compared to the baseline and was maintained until the end of the exercise in both RW and SD conditions (P < 0.01). The change in RT correlated with sleepiness (P < 0.05), with no correlation for the interference score and oxygenation. Taken together, moderate-intensity exercise reverses SD-induced cognitive decline.
Source: Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research