The effects of high-intensity interval exercise and hypoxia on cognition in sedentary young adults

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Background and Objectives: Limited research has evaluated the effects of acute exercise on cognition under different conditions of inspired oxygenation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of high-intensity interval exercise (HIE) under normoxia (inspired fraction of oxygen (FIO2): 0.209) and moderate hypoxia (FIO2: 0.154) on cognitive function. Design: A single-blinded cross-over design was used to observe the main effects of exercise and oxygen level, and interaction effects on cognitive task performance. Methods: Twenty inactive adults (10 males and 10 females, 19–27 years old) performed a cognitive task (i.e., the Go/No-Go task) before and immediately after an acute bout of HIE under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. The HIE comprised 10 repetitions of 6 s high-intensity cycling against 7.5% body weight interspersed with 30 s passive recovery. Heart rate, peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and rating of perceived exertion were monitored. Results: The acute bout of HIE did not affect the reaction time (p = 0.204, η2 = 0.083) but the accuracy rate decreased significantly after HIE under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions (p = 0.001, η2 = 0.467). Moreover, moderate hypoxia had no influence either on reaction time (p = 0.782, η2 = 0.004) or response accuracy (p = 0.972, η2 \u3c 0.001). Conclusions: These results indicate that an acute session of HIE may impair response accuracy immediately post-HIE, without sacrificing reaction time. Meanwhile moderate hypoxia was found to have no adverse effect on cognitive function in inactive young adults, at least in the present study

Effects of 12-Week Endurance Training at Natural Low Altitude on the Blood Redox Homeostasis of Professional Adolescent Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Field Trial

This field study investigated the influences of exposure to natural low altitude on endurance training-induced alterations of redox homeostasis in professional adolescent runners undergoing 12-week off-season conditioning program at an altitude of 1700 m (Alt), by comparison with that of their counterparts completing the program at sea-level (SL). For age-, gender-, and Tanner-stage-matched comparison, 26 runners (n=13 in each group) were selected and studied. Following the conditioning program, unaltered serum levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and superoxide dismutase accompanied with an increase in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and decreases of xanthine oxidase, reduced glutathione (GSH), and GSH/GSSG ratio were observed in both Alt and SL groups. Serum glutathione peroxidase and catalase did not change in SL, whereas these enzymes, respectively, decreased and increased in Alt. Uric acid (UA) decreased in SL and increased in Alt. Moreover, the decreases in GSH and GSH/GSSG ratio in Alt were relatively lower compared to those in SL. Further, significant interindividual correlations were found between changes in catalase and TBARS, as well as between UA and T-AOC. These findings suggest that long-term training at natural low altitude is unlikely to cause retained oxidative stress in professional adolescent runners

Severe hypoxia does not offset the benefits of exercise on cognitive function in sedentary young women

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Purpose: To examine the effect of acute moderate-intensity continuous exercise performed under normobaric severe hypoxia on cognition, compared to sea-level normoxia. Methods: Thirty healthy inactive women randomly performed two experimental trials separated by at least three days but at approximately the same time of day. Executive functions were measured during the follicular stage via an interference control task before (rest) and during exercise with 45% peak power output under normobaric normoxia (PIO 2 = 150 mmHg, FIO 2 = 0.21), and (2) hypoxia (PIO 2 = 87 mmHg, FIO 2 = 0.12, simulated at an altitude of 4000 m). Reaction time (RT), accuracy rate (AC), heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) were collected before and during exercise. Results: RT (p \u3c 0.05, η 2p = 0.203) decreased during moderate exercise when compared at rest, while a short bout of severe hypoxia improved RT (p \u3c 0.05, η 2p = 0.134). Exercise and hypoxia had no effects on AC (p \u3e 0.05). No significant associations were found between the changes of RT and SpO 2 under the conditions of normoxia and hypoxia (p \u3e 0.05). Conclusions: At the same phase of the menstrual cycle, a short bout of severe hypoxia simulated at 4000 m altitude caused no impairment at rest. RT during moderate exercise ameliorated in normoxia and severe hypoxia, suggesting that both exercise and short-term severe hypoxia have benefits on cognitive function in sedentary young women

Effects of 12-Week Endurance Training at Natural Low Altitude on the Blood Redox Homeostasis of Professional Adolescent Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Field Trial

This field study investigated the influences of exposure to natural low altitude on endurance training-induced alterations of redox homeostasis in professional adolescent runners undergoing 12-week off-season conditioning program at an altitude of 1700 m (Alt), by comparison with that of their counterparts completing the program at sea-level (SL). For age-, gender-, and Tanner-stagematched comparison, 26 runners ( = 13 in each group) were selected and studied. Following the conditioning program, unaltered serum levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and superoxide dismutase accompanied with an increase in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and decreases of xanthine oxidase, reduced glutathione (GSH), and GSH/GSSG ratio were observed in both Alt and SL groups. Serum glutathione peroxidase and catalase did not change in SL, whereas these enzymes, respectively, decreased and increased in Alt. Uric acid (UA) decreased in SL and increased in Alt. Moreover, the decreases in GSH and GSH/GSSG ratio in Alt were relatively lower compared to those in SL. Further, significant interindividual correlations were found between changes in catalase and TBARS, as well as between UA and T-AOC. These findings suggest that long-term training at natural low altitude is unlikely to cause retained oxidative stress in professional adolescent runners

The influence of basketball dribbling on repeated high-intensity intermittent runs

Background/Objective: This research examines whether or not the Yo-Yo testing performance could reflect the repeatability of high-intensity intermittent dribbling in adolescent basketball players. Methods: Thirty-six teenage basketball players aged 13–18 years were invited to participate in this study. Results: A test–retest showed that the Yo-Yo intermittent endurance Level 2 (IE2) test with dribbling (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.92; coefficient of variation = 12.6%; d = 0.24) and without dribbling (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.83; coefficient of variation = 15.0%; d = 0.37) had acceptable reliability. The dribbling distance covered was significantly shorter than was the running performance of the Yo-Yo IE2 test in participants younger than 15 years (junior; 1138 ± 417 m vs. 910 ± 299 m, p  0.05; d = 0.35). Moderate to large correlations were found between running and dribbling performances in the senior sample (r = 0.57, p = 0.06), the junior sample (r = 0.87, p < 0.01), and the whole (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) sample, respectively. Conclusion: The results suggest that the Yo-Yo IE2 test could reflect the repeatability of high-intensity intermittent basketball dribbling performance, while dribbling skills may have different influences on high-intensity intermittent exercise capacity in adolescent players at different ages

Comparable Effects of Brief Resistance Exercise and Isotime Sprint Interval Exercise on Glucose Homeostasis in Men

This study compared the effects of a single bout of resistance exercise (RES) on glycemic homeostasis to isotime sprint interval exercise (SIE) using a within-subjects design. Nineteen nondiabetic males (age: 23.3±0.7 yrs; height: 173.1±1.2 cm; weight: 79.1±4.8 kg; % fat: 22.5±2.5%) were studied. RES involved nine exercises of 10 repetitions at 75% 1-RM using a 2 : 2 s tempo and was interspersed with a one-minute recovery; SIE involved four 30 s’ all-out cycling effort interspersed with four minutes of active recovery. Plasma glucose and insulin in response to a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test were assessed 12 h after exercise. In comparison to a no exercise control trial (CON), the area under curve (AUC) of plasma glucose was reduced with both RES and SIE (P0.05). Such findings suggest that the RES may represent a potential alternative to the SIE in the development of time-efficient lifestyle intervention strategies for improving diabetes risk factors in healthy populations

Acute effect of high-intensity interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training on appetite-regulating gut hormones in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Exercise intensity has been suggested to influence acute appetite-regulating gut hormone responses after exercise. High intensity interval training (HIIT) with near maximal to maximal intensity or sprint interval training (SIT) with supramaximal intensity might induce greater effects on gut hormones compared to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT), while current findings were inconsistent regarding the effects of these popular training methods. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesis the findings in the literature and explore the impact of exercise modality on acylated ghrelin (AG), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY). Methods: After searching the major databases (PubMed, Web of science and ScienceDirect, Scopus, Cochrane Library) to find articles published up to May 2022, twelve studies that compared hormone responses to HIIT/SIT and MICT were identified and included in the analysis. Results: A random-effects meta-analysis showed that HIIT/SIT and MICT decreased AG concentration and increased GLP-1 and PYY concentration compared with no exercise control group, while interval training protocols, especially SIT protocols, elicited greater effect sizes in suppressing AG levels at all of the analysed time points and PYY immediately post-exercise compared to MICT. Conclusion: Acute SIT with lower exercise volume appears to be a more advantageous approach to decrease plasma AG concentration and potentially suppress hunger to a greater extent compared to MICT, despite the similar effects of HIIT/SIT compared to MICT in increasing anorectic hormones (i.e., GLP-1 and PYY). Future studies are needed to further investigate the impact of moderators (e.g., gender, body composition and exercise mode) on the variability of changes in gut hormones after interval trainings

Preparation of high-quality concentrated fragrance flaxseed oil by steam explosion pretreatment technology

In this study, flaxseed was pretreated by steam explosion technology and subsequently pressed to prepare flaxseed oil. GC, UPLC, HPLC, and GC-MS techniques were used to analyze the quality characteristics of the prepared flaxseed oil. These included the food safety risk indices, micronutrient components, and oxidative stability. The effects of different steam explosion pressures on the quality characteristics and relative volatile components of flaxseed oil were also investigated. The results revealed that steam explosion pretreatment technology could significantly increase the oil yield, improve micronutrient content, and strengthen the oxidation stability of the product. Moreover, the food safety risk indices (e.g., benzopyrene) were controlled within a reasonable range, while the fatty acid content remained almost unchanged. Notably, the relative pyrazine content in the total volatile components of flaxseed oil was 68.25% when the steam explosion pressure reached 1.2 MPa. This was considered as the main factor that contributed to the unique concentrated fragrance of the produced flaxseed oil. To prove the superiority of the steam explosion pretreatment, we compared this technique with traditional high-temperature roasting and popular microwave pretreatment techniques. The results revealed that flaxseed oil prepared by steam explosion pretreatment displayed the best quality characteristics and most concentrated fragrance. Thus, steam explosion technology shows great potential for application to produce high-quality concentrated fragrance flaxseed oil. This study provides significant reference and guidance for the preparation process of flaxseed oil

Sprint Interval Exercise Improves Cognitive Performance Unrelated to Postprandial Glucose Fluctuations at Different Levels of Normobaric Hypoxia

Objective: The aim of our study was to examine cognition response to sprint interval exercise (SIE) against different levels of hypoxia. Research design and methods: 26 recreational active males performed SIE (20 &times; 6 s of all-out cycling bouts, 15 s of passive recovery) under normoxia (FIO2: 0.209), moderate hypoxia (FIO2: 0.154), and severe hypoxia (FIO2: 0.112) in a single-blinded crossover design. Cognitive function and blood glucose were assessed before and after 0, 10, 30, and 60 min of the SIE. Heart rate (HR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE, the Borg 6&ndash;20-point scale) during each SIE trial were recorded before and immediately after every five cycling bouts, and after 0, 10, 30, and 60 min of the SIE. Results: All the three SIE trials had a significantly faster overall reaction time in the Stroop test at 10 min after exercise as compared to that of the baseline value (p = 0.003, &#414;2 = 0.606), and returned to normal after 60 min. The congruent RT at 10 min after SIE was significantly shorter than that of the baseline (p &lt; 0.05, &#414;2 = 0.633), while the incongruent RT at both 10 min and 30 min were significantly shorter than that measured at baseline (p &lt; 0.05, &#414;2 = 0.633). No significant differences in terms of accuracy were found across the three trials at any time points (p = 0.446, &#414;2 = 0.415). Blood glucose was significantly reduced at 10 min and was sustained for at least 60 min after SIE when compared to pre-exercise in all trials (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Acute SIE improved cognitive function regardless of oxygen conditions, and the sustained improvement following SIE could last for at least 10&ndash;30 min and was unaffected by the altered blood glucose level

Comparison of High-Intensity Interval Training and Moderate-to-Vigorous Continuous Training for Cardiometabolic Health and Exercise Enjoyment in Obese Young Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 5-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training (MVCT) on cardiometabolic health outcomes and enjoyment of exercise in obese young women.A randomized controlled experiment was conducted that involved thirty-one obese females (age range of 18-30) randomly assigned to either HIIT or MVCT five-week training programs. Participants in HIIT condition performed 20 min of repeated 8 s cycling interspersed with 12 s rest intervals, and those in MVCT condition cycled continuously for 40 min at 60-80% of peak oxygen consumption ([Formula: see text]O2peak), both for four days in a week. Outcomes such as [Formula: see text]O2peak, body composition estimated by bioimpedance analysis, blood lipids, and serum sexual hormones were measured at pre-and post-training. The scores of Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES) were collected during the intervention.After training, [Formula: see text]O2peak increased significantly for both training programs (9.1% in HIIT and 10.3% in MVCT) (p = 0.010, η2 = 0.41). Although MVCT group had a significant reduction in total body weight (TBW, -1.8%, p = 0.034), fat mass (FM, - 4.7%, p = 0.002) and percentage body fat (PBF, -2.9%, p = 0.016), there were no significant between-group differences in the change of the pre- and post-measures of these variables. The HIIT group had a higher score on PAES than the MVCT group during the intervention. For both conditions, exercise training led to a decline in resting testosterone and estradiol levels, but had no significant effect on blood lipids.Both HIIT and MVCT are effective in improving cardiorespiratory fitness and in reducing sexual hormones in obese young women; however, HIIT is a more enjoyable and time-efficient strategy. The mild-HIIT protocol seems to be useful for at least maintaining the body weight among sedentary individuals