مطالب

Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the effects of 3 school-based physical exercises with different levels of cognitive engagement on executive functions.  Materials and Methods: In total, 47 students aged 13-14 years were randomly divided into 3 groups, as follows: the Integrated Physical and Cognitive (IPC) exercise, peer physical exercise group (with the same physical challenge), and control group (the routine physical education program). A Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the N-back test, and the Stroop test were used to evaluate executive functions in pretest and posttest.  Results: The obtained results indicated that the IPC group significantly improved more than the other groups on the executive functions. Accordingly, physical exercise with a higher cognitive load benefitted both speed and accuracy on cognitive tasks significantly more than the same physical activity alone.  Conclusion: Therefore, in the integrated physical and cognitive exercise, the cognitive and physiological effects of this training style interact with each other; therefore, their beneficial effects can be gradually increased, while interventions that only focus on the physical dimension would be less effective in promoting cognitive functions.

Introduction: The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of different musical intensities on performance and cardiovascular responses after incremental exercise in male athletes.  Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with a cross-over design, 15 male athletes were voluntarily selected. The study subjects performed Bruce protocol, along with listening to progressive music, slow music, and without music until exhaustion.  Results: This study indicated that systolic and diastolic blood pressure, maximum oxygen consumption, maximum heart rate, and time to exhaustion insignificantly decreased while listening to slow music, compared to the no music (P=0.134, P=0.993, P=0.999, P=0.160, P=0.819, respectively). Furthermore, while listening to progressive music, compared to no music, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as maximum heart rate insignificantly increased (P=0.735, P=0.999, P=0.496, respectively); the maximum oxygen consumption and the time of exhaustion significantly increased in the study subjects (P=0.043, P=0.008 respectively). Moreover, while listening to progressive music, compared to slow music, the systolic blood pressure, maximum oxygen consumption, maximum heart rate, and the time of exhaustion significantly increased (P=0.004, P=0.009, P=0.002, P=0.001 respectively); however, diastolic blood pressure presented an insignificant decrease (P=0.253).  Conclusion: The obtained findings revealed that listening to progressive music can affect physiological factors and performance during exercising. It increases the athlete’s motivation and postpones the time to exhaustion to continue exercising; however, listening to slow music creates a state of relaxation during exercise and reduces heart rate. As a result, individuals with hypertension can decline their blood pressure during endurance exercise by listening to soft music.