Open Access

ARTICLE

Effects of Pre-Class Acute Exercise on Executive Function in University Students

Weijia Zhu¹, Linjing Zhou¹, Zijun Liu¹, Kaiqi Guan¹, Yifei Dong², Meijun Hou¹, Xun Luo¹, Ziquan Cai¹, Jinming Li¹, Zhihao Zhang¹, Qian Yu¹, Sebastian Ludyga³, Tai Ji⁴, Jiahui Wang¹, Ryan S. Falck^5,6,7,8, Charles H. Hillman^9,10,11, Kirk I. Erickson¹², Arthur F. Kramer^9,10,13, Mats Hallgren^14,15, Myrto F. Mavilidi¹⁶, Fred Paas^17,18, Matthew Heath^19,20, Fabian Herold²¹, Liye Zou^1,*

1 Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
2 Shenzhen College of International Education, Shenzhen, 518043, China
3 Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division Sport and Psychosocial Health, University of Basel, Grosse Allee 6, Basel, 4052, Switzerland
4 Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
5 School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
6 Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Health Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada
7 Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
8 Centre for Aging Solutions for Mobility, Activity, Rehabilitation and Technology (SMART) at Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
9 Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
10 Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
11 Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
12 AdventHealth Research Institute, Department of Neuroscience, AdventHealth, Orlando, FL 32101, USA
13 Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
14 Epidemiology of Psychiatric Conditions, Substance Use and Social Environment (EPiCSS), Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Solna, 171 77, Sweden
15 Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia
16 School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
17 Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, The Netherlands
18 School of Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 1466, Australia
19 Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
20 School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
21 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, HMU Health and Medical University Erfurt, Erfurt, Thuringia, 99089, Germany

* Corresponding Author: Liye Zou. Email:

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2025, 27(10), 1439-1455. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.069633

Received 27 June 2025; Accepted 27 August 2025; Issue published 31 October 2025

Abstract

Background: There is growing evidence that an acute bout of exercise positively influences executive function (EF). However, the existing evidence primarily originates from laboratory-based studies, and only a limited number of studies have extended this work to real-world classroom settings. Accordingly, in the present study, we aimed to employ a real classroom setting to determine whether acute exercise-induced effects on EF emerged. Methods: All 49 students who enrolled in a real-world course agreed to participate in the experimental protocol and the final sample was composed of 43 individuals (13 male and 30 female participants). Participants were asked to perform an acute bout of exercise (i.e, 10 min at moderate intensity) before a real classroom, and on a separate day, complete a non-exercise control condition. EF was assessed via Naming, Inhibition, and Switching variants of the Stroop task. We used a paired-samples t-test to compare participants' cognitive load between two conditions and a repeated-measures ANOVA to investigate changes in RPE. What's more, a repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine potential pre- to post-class changes in EF-related parameters (e.g., inverse efficiency scores, reaction times, and error rates). Results: A pre- to post-class benefit in performance efficiency across all Stroop task variants was shown. In both exercise and control conditions, there was a significant main effect of time, with lower inverse efficiency scores (IES) (p = 0.003) and shorter reaction times (RT) (p < 0.001) observed from pre- to post-class. Moreover, performance gains varied by Stroop task-type, with the Switching task showing the longest RTs and largest IES, reflecting its greater cognitive demands. Importantly, a marginally significant three-way interaction among task-type, intervention, and time (p = 0.052) indicated that the exercise intervention enhanced post-class performance on the Switching task. Post-hoc analyses revealed significantly lower IES and faster RTs at post-class for both the Naming and Switching tasks, particularly in the exercise group (e.g., Switching IES: p < 0.001; Switching RT: p < 0.001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that pre-class acute exercise enhances EF and provides a benefit to cognitive flexibility. Accordingly, our results extend previous knowledge by indicating that the cognitive benefits of acute exercise observed primarily in laboratory settings can be translated to real-world educational contexts.

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Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

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