The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Executive Function: A Comparative Study Among Active, Passive, and...

This study aims to explore the effects of an aerobic exercise intervention on the executive functions of active, passive, and non-procrastinating college students.

A total of 190 college students (36 male, 154 female, 19.56 ± 1.11 years old) with different types of procrastination were recruited from the first and second years of a university using the General Procrastination Scale and the Active Procrastination Scale. A 3 (procrastination type: active procrastination, passive procrastination, non-procrastination) × 2 (group: exercise group, control group) × 2 (measurement time: pre-test, post-test) mixed experimental design was employed. All participants attended regular physical education classes as usual, while the exercise group participated in an 8 week aerobic exercise program. Before and after the intervention, the inhibition, updating, and switching sub-functions of executive function were assessed.

(1) Active procrastinators and passive procrastinators showed significant differences in their inhibition scores, inhibition accuracy, updating scores, and updating accuracy (p < 0.05). Non-procrastinators exhibited a significantly higher inhibition accuracy than passive procrastinators (p < 0.05), while active procrastinators had a significantly higher updating accuracy than non-procrastinators (p < 0.05). As can be seen, there were significant differences in inhibition and updating functions between active procrastinators and passive procrastinators, with passive procrastinators showing obvious deficiencies in their inhibition accuracy. (2) After the intervention, the aerobic exercise group of non-procrastinators showed a significant reduction in their inhibition reaction time and updating reaction time (p < 0.05). The passive procrastination in the exercise group showed significant improvements in switching accuracy and inhibition accuracy (p < 0.05). The active procrastination in the exercise group showed a significant reduction in updating reaction time (p < 0.05). From the above findings, it is clear that the eight-week aerobic exercise intervention has shown improvement effects on the executive function of college students with different procrastination types, and the extent of the improvement in each sub-function of executive function varies depending on the type of procrastination.

This study reveals the relationship between exercise and the development of the sub-functions of executive function in college students with procrastination, further validating the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing exercise interventions in real-world school settings.