This meta-review provides the first meta-analytic evidence from published meta-analyses examining the effectiveness of acute exercise interventions on cognitive function. A multilevel meta-analysis with a random-effects model and tests of moderators were performed in R. Thirty systematic reviews with meta-analyses (383 unique studies with 18,347 participants) were identified. Acute exercise significantly improved cognitive function with a small-to-medium effect (N of standardized mean difference [SMD] = 44, mean SMD [M SMD] = 0.33, 95% CI [0.24, 0.42], p < .001). A generalized effect was observed across cognitive domains, showing benefits to tasks identified as attention (M SMD = 0.37), mixed/other (M SMD = 0.36), executive function (M SMD = 0.36), memory (M SMD = 0.23), and information processing (M SMD = 0.20). The timepoint of assessment was a significant moderator (p < .05) with the largest benefits observed when cognitive function was assessed following exercise (M SMD = 0.32). Sample descriptors (i.e., age, cognitive status) and exercise parameters (i.e., intensity, type, duration) did not moderate the positive acute exercise effect on cognitive function (ps > .05). Acute exercise facilitates cognitive function, with the size of the effect varying depending on the timing of assessment in relation to exercise. Notably, these benefits are evident across cognitive domains and occur regardless of participants' characteristics and exercise settings, supporting the adoption of acute exercise for improved cognitive function across the lifespan. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Numerous studies have shown that dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with many mental abilities related to sports performance, including psychological skills and mental toughness. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, psychological skills, and mental toughness among different types of athletes. For this cross-sectional study, 101 college athletes were recruited. Their dispositional mindfulness, psychological skills, and mental toughness were measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Athletic Psychological Skills Inventory (APSI), and Traits of Mental Toughness Inventory for Sports Scale (TMTIS). Pearson’s correlation was used to calculate how dispositional mindfulness is associated with psychological skills and mental toughness. The results revealed that dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with comprehensive APSI (r = 0.21–0.36, p < 0.05), TMTIS overall (r = 0.27, p < 0.01), positive effort (r = 0.26, p = 0.01), and pressure (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). These findings suggest a positive linkage between mindfulness and the two examined psychological characteristics related to sports performance. Other approaches to increase mindfulness may be considered in the future.

The Effects of Tai Chi on the Executive Functions and Physical Fitness in Middle-Aged Adults with Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial: Objective. The present study examined the effects of Tai Chi exercise on the executive functions (EFs) and physical fitness of middle-aged adults with depression. Methods. A total of 39 middle-aged adults with depression (M_age=50.59, SD=7.38) were randomly assigned to the Tai Chi group (n=20) or the waiting-list control group (n=19). The Tai Chi group engaged in two 90min sessions of Tai Chi exercise per week for 12 weeks; the waiting-list control group was asked to maintain their usual daily routines for 12 weeks. Depression symptoms, EFs (i.e., inhibitory control, planning, working memory, and cognitive flexibility), and physical fitness (i.e., cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, power, and flexibility) were evaluated at the baseline (pretest), 6-week (mid-test), and 12-week (post-test) marks. Results. Both groups showed decreased depression symptoms over time. Compared with the control group, the Tai Chi group showed decreased reaction times for incongruent conditions in the Stroop test from pretest to mid- and post-test, and shorter reaction time for incongruent conditions in the Stroop test than the control group at post-test; the Tai Chi group performed significantly better than the control group in overall total move score of Tower of London (TOL). The Tai Chi group also showed increased total correct scores of TOL from pretest to mid- and post-test, and greater total correct scores of TOL than the control group at post-test. Additionally, results indicated that Tai Chi exercise comprehensively improved physical fitness from pretest to mid- and post-test. Greater performance in terms of cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and power was also found in the Tai Chi group at post-test than in the control group. Conclusions. These findings suggest that the 12-week Tai Chi exercise improved inhibitory control, planning and working memory aspects of executive functions, and physical fitness in middle-aged adults with depression.

This study aimed to examine whether a single bout each of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) and high-intensity continuous exercise (HICE) could improve inhibitory functions of overweight and obese children, and which mode of exercise was more beneficial. Seventy-two overweight and obese children, with (26.02 ± 1.05 kg/m²), aged 10–14 years (11.56 ± 1.03 years), were randomly assigned to three groups. The HIIE group completed a 30-min treadmill exercise session (5-min warm up, 20-min HIIE, and 5-min cool-down). The HICE group performed 30 min of rope skipping, while the control (CON) group watched a designated cartoon on a tablet computer for the same duration. Reaction time and number of errors in the Stroop test were determined before and after the intervention. The difference between pre- and post-test reaction time scores was higher in the HIIE and HICE groups than in the CON group, while the pre- and post-test difference in the number of errors was similar between groups. Overall, it is likely that both acute HIIE and HICE were similarly efficient in facilitating cognitive and inhibitory functions of children with overweight and obesity conditions, supporting the benefits of acute high-intensity exercise probability for cognitive functions of children in general, as well as of the population with overweight and obesity conditions.

Background: Abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing exercises are popular worldwide and have been proven to be beneficial for physical performance. Is abdominal motion (AM) during spontaneous breathing correlated with physical fitness? The present study aimed to answer this question. Methods: 434 women (aged 20–59) were enrolled and participated in respiration tests using two respiration belts (one was tied at the height of the xiphoid and another at the navel) to detect AM and thoracic motion (TM). They also performed physical fitness tests to measure body size, muscular strength, muscular power, muscular endurance, balance, flexibility, reaction time, and cardiorespiratory endurance. Results: All the correlation coefficients between respiratory movements (AM, TM, AM + TM, AM/(AM + TM)) and physical fitness outcomes were less than 0.4/−0.4. Only AM and muscular power (countermovement jump height) had a weak correlation, with a correlation coefficient close to 0.4 in the 20−29-year age group (r_s = 0.398, p = 0.011, n = 40). Conclusions: Women’s respiratory movements during spontaneous breathing were not correlated with physical fitness. Future studies may focus on the relationship between AM and countermovement jump height in young women with a larger sample size and using ultrasound to directly test the excursion of the diaphragm.