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Dance the Night Away: Exercise Effects on Cognition in Young Adults with Childhood Trauma
Lily Wang
Faculty Advisor: Erin Logue, PhD
A short, single bout of aerobic exercise produces immediate cognitive benefits which are predictive of long-term effects seen with repeated exercise. Dance is moderate-intensity aerobic exercise that is enjoyable, accessible, and cognitively demanding. There is limited research on the cognitive effects of a single bout of dance exercise, especially in populations at increased risk for reporting cognitive complaints and developing Alzheimer’s disease, like adults with adverse childhood experiences. This study investigated the effect of acute exercise—specifically moderate-intensity dance and low-intensity stretching—on cognition and exercise enjoyment in young adults with a history of childhood trauma. Using a within-subjects design, participants danced or stretched for 20 minutes, followed by an enjoyment measure and neurocognitive tests. In both dance and stretching conditions, participants had similar neurocognitive test performance, including similar recovery from proactive semantic interference effects, and similar exercise enjoyment. Our results indicate that a single session of dance and stretching have similar effects on memory consolidation and executive functioning skills, and stretching may be as enjoyable as dance.