To examine the effects of self-selected low-intensity walking on an active workstation on executive functions in young and middle-aged adults.
Using a within-subjects design, 32 young (20.6 ± 2.0 yr) and 26 middle-aged (45.6 ± 11.8 yr) adults performed low-intensity treadmill walking and seated control conditions in randomized order on separate days, while completing an executive function test battery. Executive functions (EFs) were assessed using modified versions of the Stroop (inhibition), Sternberg (working memory), Wisconsin Card Sorting (cognitive flexibility), and Tower of London (global EF) cognitive tasks. Behavioral performance outcomes were assessed using composite task z-scores and traditional measures of reaction time and accuracy. Average heart rate (HR) and step count were also measured throughout.
The expected task difficulty effects were found for reaction time and accuracy. No significant main effects or interactions as a function of treadmill walking were found for tasks assessing global EF and the three individual executive function domains. Accuracy on the Tower of London task was slightly impaired during slow treadmill walking for both age groups. Middle-aged adults displayed longer planning times for more difficult conditions of the Tower of London during walking compared to sitting. A 50 min session of low-intensity treadmill walking on an active workstation resulted in accruing approximately 4,500 steps.
These findings suggest that executive function performance remains relatively unaffected while walking on an active workstation, further supporting the use of treadmill workstations as an effective approach to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time in the workplace.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 23. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 August 2017.
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#2,137,539
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Outputs from Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise
#1,672
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#30,448
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Outputs of similar age from Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise
#26
of 118 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,601,305 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 93rd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 8,677 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 26.2. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 118 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 77% of its contemporaries.
