Acute Effects of Exercise in College Students With ADHD

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

The overall objective of this study is to examine physical exercise as an intervention for ADHD. The rationale for the proposed study is that physical exercise could serve as an effective treatment for college students with ADHD that has low costs, low risks, and ancillary health benefits and may address the limitations of existing treatments. The central hypothesis is that college students with ADHD will exhibit greater degrees of improvement in executive functioning (i.e., sustained attention, working memory) immediately following sprint interval training (SIT), relative to non-ADHD peers. This hypothesis was formulated based on preliminary studies demonstrating reduced ADHD symptoms and improved executive functioning following physical exercise. Multiple 2 (ADHD vs. control) x 2 (male vs. female) x 2 (exercise vs. none) repeated measures ANOVAs will be conducted to compare students with ADHD (n = 24) to controls (n = 24). The expected outcomes are to confirm this hypothesis and demonstrate the need for further study of physical exercise. If confirmed, the results will provide pilot data for a larger NIH grant proposal aimed at further examining the acute effects of physical exercise (i.e., improved cognitive functioning immediately following exercise) and also the chronic effects of physical exercise (i.e., improved functioning after engaging in regular exercise for an extended period). This outcome is expected to have an important positive impact because physical exercise may serve as an effective treatment for college students with ADHD that is less risky than stimulants, less time-consuming than therapy, and provides ancillary health benefits (i.e., increasing physical fitness, decreasing obesity).

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Maximum Age: 29
Healthy Volunteers: t
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• Age between 18 and 29 years.

• University of Wyoming (UW) or Laramie County Community College (LCCC) student.

Locations
United States
Wyoming
University of Wyoming
RECRUITING
Laramie
Contact Information
Primary
Cynthia M Hartung, Ph.D.
chartung@uwyo.edu
307-314-2123
Time Frame
Start Date: 2018-10-08
Estimated Completion Date: 2025-12-30
Participants
Target number of participants: 48
Treatments
Experimental: Sprint Interval Training
Participants will be scheduled for two in-lab experimental appointments: sprint interval training (SIT) and Non-SIT. During the SIT appointment, the researcher will lead the participant through a set of stretches and three minutes of low-intensity cycling on a Schwinn AD2 Airdyne leg-cycling and arm-cranking ergometer to warm up and increase blood flow to active muscles. Participants will then complete 16 minutes of SIT, consisting of eight bouts of 20 seconds of cycling followed by 100 seconds of rest. Participants will complete computer-based tests of sustained attention and working memory during both the SIT (15 minutes following the exercise) and Non-SIT appointments.
Sponsors
Leads: University of Wyoming

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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