Aerobic Exercise Effect on Memory Retention in Active Collegiate Females

Background/Purpose: In recent years, the effect of exercise on memory retention and cognitive function has been a topic of continually growing interest.  Studies with subjects ranging from children to older adults have shown that aerobic exercise leads to increased memory retention and hippocampal volume. However, few studies have been conducted on the effect of aerobic exercise on memory retention in moderately active collegiate females. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of aerobic exercise on memory retention in moderately active collegiate females. It was hypothesized that a 15-minute moderate intensity exercise session on a stationary bike would increase memory retention in moderately active collegiate females.

Method: Ten moderately active students (age:  21.2 ± 0.632 yrs., ht.: 168.26 ± 7.37 cm, wt.: 66.70 ± 15.27 kg) from a small, Midwest, private university voluntarily participated in this Institutional Review Board (#494901-1) approved study.  Subjects were females who exercised three to five days per week, and did not have any known concussions within the past five years. Pre-exercise the Rey Auditory Visual Learning Test (RAVLT) was administered to determine baseline memory retention. Subjects rode a stationary bike for 15 minutes at 50-60% of their maximum heart rate (maxHR). Post-exercise the RAVLT was again administered. A paired t-test was run in Minitab 16 at the 0.05 level.

Analysis/Results: Post-exercise RAVLT scores (0.77 ± 0.16) significantly improved over pre-exercise RAVLT scores (0.62 ± 0.09)(p=0.026).

Conclusions: : Moderately active collegiate females who participated in a 15-minute exercise bout at 50-60% of their maxHR showed increased memory retention. The hypothesis was accepted. These results have important implications for both the student attempting to learn and the teacher when designing class sessions.