The Effects of Acute Exercise on Short- and Long-Term Memory: Considerations for the Timing of Exercise and Phases of Memory

Authors

  • Paul D. Loprinzi
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Sierra Day
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Rebecca Hendry
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Sara Hoffman
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Alexis Love
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Sarah Marable
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Elizabeth McKee
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Sydney Stec
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Hanna Watson
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
  • Brittney Gilliland
    Exercise & Memory Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA

Abstract

The specific questions addressed from this research include: (1) Does high-intensity acute exercise improve memory?, (2) If so, do the mechanisms occur via encoding, consolidation, or retrieval? and (3) If acute exercise occurs in multiple phases of memory (e.g., before encoding and during consolidation), does this have an additive effect on memory? Three experimental, within-subject, counterbalanced studies were conducted among young adults. High-intensity exercise involved a 20-minutes bout of exercise at 75% of heart rate reserve. Memory was evaluated from a word-list task, including multiple evaluations out to 24-hours post-encoding. The timing of the exercise and memory assessments were carefully positioned to evaluate whether any improvements in memory were driven by mechanisms related to encoding, consolidation, and/or retrieval. We demonstrated that high-intensity acute exercise enhanced memory. This effect was robust (repeatable) and occurred through encoding, consolidation and retrieval-based mechanisms. Further, incorporating acute exercise into multiple phases of memory additively enhanced memory function.