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Acute Effects of Exercise in College Students With ADHD

NCT03666416 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 48

Last updated 2024-06-10

No results posted yet for this study

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).

Conditions

  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Effects of; Exertion
  • Working Memory
  • Change in Sustained Attention

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Sprint Interval Training

Participants will attend two experimental appointments, during which they will complete two identical executive functioning tasks (i.e., sustained attention, working memory). During one appointment, participants will receive the sprint interval training manipulation prior to completing the tasks.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Wyoming

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Cynthia M Hartung, Ph.D. · University of Wyoming

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
29 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2018-10-08
Primary Completion
2025-06-30
Completion
2025-12-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03666416 on ClinicalTrials.gov