Acute exercise impacts heart rate variability but not cognitive flexibility during subsequent simulated firefighter occupational tasks

Acute exercise can transiently enhance cognitive flexibility. The cognitive demand of firefighters makes it relevant to understand if on-shift exercise could produce similar improvements in cognitive performance during subsequent occupational tasks. Metrics of heart rate variability (HRV), such as time- and frequency-domain outcomes, may shed light upon the influence exercise has on cognition, as they discern information related to cardiac autonomic (sympathetic/parasympathetic) function. We aimed to determine if acute resistance and aerobic exercise impact cognitive flexibility during occupational tasks and its relation to HRV.

32 participants completed a baseline Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and three experimental trials: resistance exercise (RE), aerobic exercise (AE), or a rested control (CON). An occupational task assessment (OTA) including four rounds of 10 deadlifts and a 0.15-mile sandbag carry in an environmental chamber (35 °C/50% humidity) was completed after each trial. The second round was followed by the WCST. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze differences by condition.

For the WCST, total, perseverative, and non-perseverative errors did not differ (ps > 0.39). Time-domain HRV metrics were not different (ps > 0.05). All frequency-domain metrics, other than low-frequency power, were not different (ps > 0.24). Low-frequency power was lower based on condition (p = 0.03). Post hoc analysis showed low-frequency power was lower following AE compared to RE and CON.

Results suggest an acute bout of on-shift aerobic or resistance exercise may not impact cognitive flexibility during subsequent simulated occupational tasks, despite depressed metrics of heart rate variability following aerobic exercise.