Effects of running exercises on reaction time and working memory in individuals with intellectual disability.
A light half-hour jog immediately speeds reaction time and boosts working memory in clients with intellectual disability.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked adults with intellectual disability to run for 30 minutes.
Heart-rate monitors kept them at either a light jog (30 % of heart-rate reserve) or a brisk jog (60 %).
Before and after each run the adults took simple reaction-time tests and a short memory game.
What they found
Both runs made the adults faster and better at the memory game.
Surprise: the easy jog gave the biggest speed-up on sound-based reaction time.
Moderate jogging still helped, but the light pace won.
How this fits with other research
Vogt et al. (2013) saw the same reaction-time boost after 10 minutes of moderate cycling, so the benefit is real across machines.
Faso et al. (2016) looks like a clash: high-intensity treadmill walking slowed processing speed in adults with Down syndrome.
The difference is the group — Down syndrome brains may tire faster under hard effort, while general ID brains respond well to light effort.
Adams et al. (2021) stretched the idea into class: five-minute active breaks gave kids with ID a small memory lift, showing the payoff can happen in tiny school doses too.
Why it matters
You can sharpen attention and memory in one session.
Start sessions with an easy five-to-ten-minute jog or march at 30 % heart-rate reserve.
Track simple reaction time before and after to show the client the gain — instant proof keeps them motivated.
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Join Free →Open session with five minutes of easy jogging in place, then run a quick reaction-time game to show the client the speed gain.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: This study explored the effect of running exercises at low [30% heart rate reserve (HRR)] and moderate (60%HRR) intensities on cognitive performances in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). METHODS: Participants performed randomly reaction time (RT) tests: visual RT [simple RT (SRT) and choice RT (CRT)], auditory SRT (ASRT) and working memory (WM) (Corsi test) before and after the exercises. RESULTS: The results showed that after both exercises, SRT decreased significantly (P < 0.001) in both groups with higher extent (P < 0.05) at 60%HRR compared with 30%HRR. CRT decreased (P < 0.01), similarly, after the both exercises in both groups with higher (P < 0.001) extent in the intellectual disability group (IDG). ASRT decreased significantly, at 30%HRR, in IDG (P < 0.001) and in control group (CG) (P < 0.01) with greater extent in IDG (P < 0.001). At 60%HRR, ASRT decreased significantly in both groups (P < 0.001) with greater extent in IDG (P < 0.001). The ΔASRT% was significantly (P < 0.05) higher at 30%HRR compared with 60%HRR in IDG. In CG, no significant (P = 0.21) difference was reported between intensities. The Corsi forward and the Corsi backward scores increased significantly (P < 0.01) in both groups after both intensities with higher extent in IDG (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that low and moderate running exercises improve similarly simple and choice visual RT as well as WM in individuals with ID. Furthermore, low-intensity exercise could be more appropriate to enhance ASRT compared the moderate one in these individuals. Therefore, low-intensity exercise seems to be an efficient strategy to improve cognitive performances in individuals with ID.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2021 · doi:10.1111/jir.12798