Best time of day for strength and endurance training? A systematic review with meta-analysis

Background: Diurnal variations in physiological body functions are known to affect physical performance, but it is unclear if there are time-of-day dependent effects of physical exercise training on performance improvements and health-related physiology. Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate if the time of day at which endurance or strength exercise training is performed affects physical performance, physical fitness, anthropometrics, cardiovascular or metabolic outcomes. To accomplish this, a comprehensive literature search and rigorous assessment of the risk of bias within studies is required. Study Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Methods: The databases EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library and SPORTDiscus were searched from inception to May 2021. Eligibility criteria were that the studies (1) included humans, (2) conducted structured exercise training with a minimum of two exercise sessions per week and a minimum training duration of two weeks, (3) compared exercise training between at least two different times of the day, (4) implemented endurance and/or strength training, and (5) used a randomized crossover or parallel group design. There were no restrictions regarding date of publication or participants’ sex, age, fitness level, or health condition. Results: From 12,783 screened articles, 22 articles were included in the systematic review of which seven were also included in the meta-analyses. The systematic review revealed that there currently is little evidence that training at a specific time of day influences anthropometric, performance-related, and health-related outcome measures more positively compared to other times. Further, the meta-analysis did not provide consistent evidence that training at a specific time of day has a superior impact on performance-related outcomes compared to other times. Considering the effects of time of day of training relative to time of day of testing, suggests that exercise training in the morning is superior compared to evening training to increase jump performance in the morning -1.11 (95% CI -2.18 to -0.03). However, no significant benefit was observed for such matching of the time of training with the time of testing to improve jump performance in the evening (0.33; -0.12 to 0.77) and to increase strength performance for morning (-0.14; -0.60 to 0.32) or evening (0.34; -0.03 to 0.71). The overall risk of bias in individual studies was moderate to high. Conclusions: Studies investigating the effects of timing of exercise training on improvements in maximum physical performance so far provide little evidence that there is a time-of-day effect. To date few studies investigated the effects of exercise timing on health-related outcomes. Overall, the risk of bias in these studies is rather high. To provide reliable data on the effects of time of day of exercise on performance-related and health-related outcomes, this systematic review provides recommendations for a rigorous methodological approach for future studies. Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021246468

Acute exercise impairs social-cognitive abilities in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background While children with Autism Spectrum Disorder show heterogeneous cognitive profiles, they share common deficits in social-cognitive abilities and executive function. Moderate endurance exercise is known to elicit changes in the psychophysiological state, which can translate into immediate, but transient benefits for both cognitive domains. However, the cognitive response of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to acute exercise remains unclear. We addressed this research deficit by investigating the effects of a single endurance exercise session on face recognition abilities and affective response inhibition. Methods We recruited 30 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder aged 7 to 12 years from local clinicals in Basel, Switzerland and via social media. Using a randomized cross-over design, participants completed a moderately-intense, 20-min exercise session on a cycling ergometer and control condition, which involved sitting on the ergometer. We collected heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion during these sessions. Before and after the experimental conditions, participants completed two computerized cognitive tasks. During the Mooney Face Recognition task, they had to categorize stimuli into faces and objects. In the affective Go/NoGo task, participants were instructed to inhibit their response to either sad or happy faces and press a button to all other faces. Results The experimental manipulation was successful as a main effect of condition indicated a higher heart rate and rating of perceived exertion in the exercise compared to the control condition. With regard to cognitive performance, the repeated measures ANOVA revealed an interaction of time and condition for the Mooney Face Recognition task, indicating an increase in reaction time in the exercise compared to the control condition. In contrast, no interaction of time and condition was found for accuracy on this task as well as accuracy and reaction time on the affective Go/NoGo task. Conclusion In children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, a single exercise does not seem to benefit social-cognitive abilities and executive function temporarily. A short cycling bout rather impairs the ability to recognize faces, suggesting that the maintenance of supervised exercise demands a set of joint resources. As these results are in conflict with the well-documented benefit of acute exercise in healthy populations, the atypical cognitive response in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder indicates a moderating role of this neurodevelopmental condition

Behavioral and neurocognitive effects of judo training on working memory capacity in children with ADHD: A randomized controlled trial

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) face deficits in working memory capacity that often persist into adulthood. In healthy peers, exercise targeting motor skill acquisition benefits visuospatial working memory, but its potential to reduce ADHD-related deficits remains unclear. We investigated the effect of a judo training program targeting motor skills on behavioral and neurocognitive indices of working memory capacity in children with ADHD.; Children with ADHD aged 8 to 12 years (N = 57) were randomly allocated to a judo training group and a wait-list control group. The training program encompassed 120 min of judo per week over three months. Before and after the intervention period, participants completed a bilateral Change Detection task with low and high memory load conditions and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2). The contralateral delay activity (CDA) elicited by the cognitive task was recorded using electroencephalography.; Compared to the control group, the judo training group showed a higher K-score on the Change Detection task and an increased negativity of the CDA on the high load condition following the intervention, when pretest scores (and confounders) were accounted for. In contrast, no group differences were found for MABC-2 score.; In children with ADHD, judo training may complement the pharmacological treatment by increasing the effectiveness of working memory maintenance processes. On a behavioral level, this improvement is accompanied with an increased capacity to store visuospatial information

Martial Arts and Cognitive Control in Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Children Born Very Preterm: A Combined Analysis of Two Randomized Controlled Trials

Ludyga S, Hanke M, Leuenberger R, et al. Martial Arts and Cognitive Control in Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Children Born Very Preterm: A Combined Analysis of Two Randomized Controlled Trials. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise . 2023;55(5):777-786.IntroductionVery preterm birth and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are associated with impairments in response inhibition that often persist beyond childhood. Athletes skilled in martial arts show a neurocognitive profile that is associated with an improved inhibition processing stream, suggesting that engagement in this kind of sport has the potential to reduce impairments in this cognitive function. We investigated the behavioral and neurocognitive effects of judo training on response inhibition in children born very preterm and children with ADHD by a combined analysis of two randomized controlled trials.MethodsIn both the CHIPMANC (n = 65) and JETPAC (n = 63) studies, participants were randomly allocated to a waitlist or a 12-wk judo training program in a 1:1 ratio. At pretest and posttest, participants completed a Go/NoGo task, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and a physical work capacity test on a bicycle ergometer. During the cognitive task, event-related potentials (N2, P3a, P3b) were recorded via electroencephalography.ResultsThe effects of the judo training were moderated by the study group. In contrast to children with ADHD (JETPAC), judo training reduced the commission error rate on the Go/NoGo task and increased the P3a amplitude in children born very preterm (CHIPMANC). No treatment effects were found for N2, P3b and physical fitness outcomes.ConclusionsThe neurodevelopmental condition influences the cognitive benefits of judo training. Whereas judo may be ineffective in children with ADHD, children born very preterm can expect improved response inhibition due to a more effective engagement of focal attention to resolve the task-related response conflict