Daily Activity and Inactivity are Associated with Daily Executive Function
Open Access
- Author:
- Fitzsimmons, Patrick Thomas
- Area of Honors:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- David E Conroy, Thesis Supervisor
Steriani Elavsky, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- executive functioning
physical activity
sedentary behavior
within-person - Abstract:
- Objective: Physical activity is known to play a significant role in prevention of serious health concerns like obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. In addition to the physical health benefits, physical activity enhances mental health, including executive function. Recent research has shown the benefits of physical activity on executive functioning in children and older adults, but it remains unclear if physical activity is linked to executive functioning in college students (ages 18 to 25 years). Also, very little is known about how sedentary behavior affects executive function. Methods: A 14-day daily diary study was designed to determine the association between perceived executive function and physical activity and inactivity at the between- and within-person level, using self-reported activity. Results: Daily physical activity and sedentary behavior are associated with daily perceived executive function at the within-person level. Contrary to previous research, this study did not show support for a between-person association between activity levels and executive function. Conclusions: Although knowledge of these benefits (i.e., outcome expectations) will not be sufficient to influence behavior directly, increasing awareness of these benefits may be another route for facilitating intention formation and motivating physical activity. Additionally, these findings reinforce the benefits of increasing daily physical activity and limiting sedentary time for college students who require strong executive functions to succeed academically.