Effects of High Intensity Interval Training on Executive Function in Children Aged 8–12 Years

Nobuaki Tottori, Noriteru Morita, Kenji Ueta and Satoshi Fujita
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Nobuaki Tottori: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu 525-8577, Japan
Noriteru Morita: Department of Cultural Studies, Hokkaido University of Education, Iwamizawa 068-8642, Japan
Kenji Ueta: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu 525-8577, Japan
Satoshi Fujita: Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu 525-8577, Japan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program on both physical fitness and executive functions in children. Fifty-six children aged 8–12 years participated in this study, and were divided into a HIIT group and a control group. The HIIT group performed three sessions of the 8- to 10-min HIIT program per week for 4 weeks. Before and after the intervention, 20-m shuttle runs, sit-ups, and standing long jumps were assessed as test of physical fitness. In addition, the executive function was assessed using the digit span forward (DSF) test, digit span backward (DSB) test, and Tower of Hanoi test. Only the HIIT group experienced significant improvement when completing the 20-m shuttle run ( p = 0.042) and sit-ups ( p < 0.001). Regarding executive function, the number of correct answers in DSB test significantly increased only in the HIIT group ( p = 0.003). However, the standing long jump, DSF, and the Tower of Hanoi test performance did not change after intervention. The findings of the present study suggest that HIIT has positive effects on a core executive function such as working memory in addition to components of the physical fitness such as cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular endurance.

Keywords: primary school-aged children; high intensity interval training; cardiorespiratory endurance; muscular endurance; working memory; planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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