How Does Physical Exercise Affect Short-Term Memory?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The goal of this project was to determine what affect strenuous exercise had on short-term memory. Methods/Materials A computer program was constructed to test and record how subjects scored on a short-term memory test. Each day the computer allowed the subjects to take the test once before a high intensity swim workout and once after. The test consisted of 10 computer generated random two-digit numbers. Subjects were given 60 seconds to memorize the numbers, and then 60 seconds to recall them. The computer recorded the results in a database at the completion of each test. Volunteers were asked to perform the tests as often as possible during the study period. Results Five subjects participated in the memory study. There were 3 boys and 2 girls. They ranged in age from 11 to 13 years. They were all members of the Irvine Novaquatics gold level age group competitive swim team. The five subjects performed a total of 42 pairs of before exercise and after exercise memory tests. Tests scores ranged from 0 to 100%. The average pre-exercise test score was 74.3%. The average post-exercise test score was 63.6%. Four out of the five subjects more frequently scored worse on the post-exercise tests than on the pre-exercise tests. Conclusions/Discussion This study found that subjects scored higher on memory tests before vigorous exercise than they did after.

Competition history

• CSEF 2005 Behavioral Sciences · Entry J0312

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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