The Effects of Acute Physical Exercise on Memory, Peripheral BDNF, and Cortisol in Young Adults
Table 1
Participants’ characteristics and exercise induced changes in heart rate and subjective exhaustion, listed separately for the high-intensity exercise group, low-intensity exercise group, and relaxing group.
High-intensity exercise group
Low-intensity exercise group
Relaxing group
Mean age (SD)
21.69 (2.72)
21.63 (2.13)
22.50 (2.22)
Age range
18–28
19–28
20–29
Sex (f/m)
13/13
13/14
14/14
Female: hormonal contraception (y/n)
13/0
10/3
8/6
Mean BMI (SD)
22.11 (2.00)
21.40 (1.85)
21.55 (1.72)
Mean self-reported physical activities in METh/week (SD)
42.31 (22.23)
45.80 (27.47)
52.94 (26.81)
Cardiovascular fitness (mean in mL/min, SD)
2601.74 (707.97)
2611.92 (657.33)
2640.52 (721.99)
Mean number of foreign languages (SD)
2.35 (1.20)
2.07 (0.55)
2.32 (0.82)
Playing an instrument (y/n)
21/5
17/10
22/6
Mean number of correctly recalled words memory pretest (SD)1
9.84 (3.94)
9.74 (4.58)
9.64 (4.84)
Mean heart rate during learning (SD)2
74.14 (9.36)
77.31 (9.23)
71.32 (8.88)
Mean heart rate during intervention (SD)3
144.69 (8.48)
98.60 (10.24)
63.15 (8.54)
Mean rating of perceived exhaustion during exercising (SD)
14.54 (1.23)
9.00 (1.80)
ANOVA, Chi-square test, and -test 1Missing data for 1 participant of the high-intensity group. 2Missing data for 4 participants of the high-intensity group, 1 participant of the low-intensity group, and 3 participants of the relaxing group. 3Missing data for 2 participants of the low-intensity group and 1 participant of the relaxing group.
