Looking to boost your cognitive performance? A single session of exercise may produce immediate benefits. A new study led by Chair Professor Yu-Kai Chang of the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at National Taiwan Normal University, in collaboration with Distinguished Professor Jennifer Etnier of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Dr. Shih-Chun Kao of Purdue University, has just been published in Psychological Bulletin. The team presents pioneering evidence on the effects of a single acute bout of exercise on cognitive function.
Founded in 1904, Psychological Bulletin is among the earliest academic journals in psychology. It is the highest-tier official journal of the American Psychological Association, and is widely regarded as a flagship periodical in the field.
As early as 2012, Professor Chang’s team published a meta-analysis in Brain Research synthesizing 79 independent studies, and demonstrated that even one session of exercise can improve cognitive performance. This study has since been cited more than 2,600 times, and was incorporated into the Scientific Report of the Physical Activity Guidelines for American.
However, given the growth in both the quantity and quality of research in recent years, along with methodological advances, an updated synthesis of the evidence became necessary. Professor Chang and his international collaborators therefore extended this line of inquiry by conducting the first-ever meta-review, also known as a umbrella review, on this topic. This project integrated 30 meta-analyses, encompassing 383 independent studies and 18,347 participants, representing the largest and most comprehensive synthesis to date in this research area.
The findings showed that a single bout of exercise yields significant cognitive benefits. Beyond reaffirming the team’s 2012 conclusions, the study also used subgroup analyses to examine moderating factors related to specific cognitive domains, participant characteristics, and exercise parameters.
With respect to cognitive domains, the largest benefits were observed for attention and executive function (higher-order cognition), with additional improvements in memory and information-processing speed. Furthermore, the effects were greater after exercise than during exercise.
With respect to participant characteristics, acute exercise produced small-to-moderate benefits across multiple cognitive domains, regardless of age or cognitive status (healthy or clinical populations).
With respect to exercise parameters, mixed-type exercise (comprising more than one exercise modality, such as aerobic plus resistance training or yoga) and high-intensity interval training produced the largest benefits, while aerobic exercise alone also yielded positive effects. In addition, moderate-to-vigorous or moderate-intensity exercise showed the greatest impact, although vigorous-to-maximal intensity also produced beneficial effects. Finally, both shorter and longer sessions, whether under or over 20 minutes, enhanced cognitive function. But this raises the question: How does exercise alter cognitive functioning?
A 2022 meta-analysis published by Professor Chang’s group in the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology offers a possible explanation. The study found that after a single bout of exercise, P3 amplitude increases and P3 latency decreases, indicating that during cognitive tasks the brain allocates greater attentional resources, and processes information more quickly. Such neurophysiological changes may underlie the cognitive enhancements produced by acute exercise.
Overall, Professor Chang’s team highlights the importance of even one exercise session for cognitive functioning, and recommends mixed-type exercise at moderate to vigorous intensity for approximately 20 minutes as an effective strategy to promote cognition. Students who spend long hours studying may find that brief exercise breaks help improve their attention and executive control; busy adults can benefit from a simple 20-minute jog during lunch to enhance processing efficiency at work; while older adults may improve their memory, reduce dementia risk, and strengthen functional independence through mixed-type exercise. Building a habit of daily short exercise sessions may help all of us achieve healthier lives and sharper minds.
(This article was provided by The Center of Public Affairs.)
References
- Chang, Y. K., Labban, J. D., Gapin, J. I., & Etnier, J. L. (2012). The effects of acute exercise on cognitive performance: A meta-analysis. Brain Research, 1453, 87-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2012.02.068
- Kao, S. C., Chen, F. T., Moreau, D., Drollette, E. S., Amireault, S., Chu, C. H., & Chang, Y. K. (2022). Acute effects of exercise engagement on neurocognitive function: a systematic review and meta-analysis on P3 amplitude and latency. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2022.2155488
- Chang, Y.-K., Ren, F.-F., Li, R.-H., Ai, J.-Y., Kao, S.-C., & Etnier, J. L. (2025). Effects of acute exercise on cognitive function: A meta-review of 30 systematic reviews with meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 151(2), 240–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000460
