Breaking Sitting with High-intensity Interval Training for Brain Health

Official title

Breaking Prolonged Sitting with High-intensity Interval Training to Improve Cognitive and Brain Health in Older Adults: a Pilot Feasibility Trial.

Overview

This trial will examine whether interrupting 3.5 hours of sitting every 30 min with 6 min high intensity interval training (HIIT) breaks compared to light intensity interval training (LIIT) will improve brain health in cognitively normal older adults. This trial will test the feasibility of HIIT breaks to sitting. It will also address several important but unanswered questions: (1) Does interrupting sitting with short HIIT breaks improve frontoparietal function? (2) Can interrupting sitting with HIIT breaks improve cognitive functions?

Detailed description

The investigators are conducting an acute, single site randomized crossover trial testing two conditions lasting 3.5 hours each with a one to four-weeks washout period: (1) Interrupting sitting with 6 min of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) every 30 min, and (2) interrupting sitting with 6-min light-intensity interval training (LIIT) every 30 min. Investigators will administer the conditions in a counterbalanced order to 54 older adults (40-75 years). Brain function will be assessed using event-related brain potentials and measures of functional connectivity derived from electroencephalography. Cognitive functions will be assessed using a modified Eriksen flanker task and an antisaccade task. Investigators will measure episodic memory using a mnemonic discrimination task.

Interventions

• Behavioral High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Breaks to Sitting
  HIIT Breaks: a 3.5-hour sitting will be interrupted every 30 min with 6-min HIIT Breaks. During sitting participants will engage in standardized sedentary activities. Each 6-min HIIT break comprises a one-minute warm-up, followed by a 2-minute high-intensity interval, one minute rest (sitting on a cycle ergometer) followed by another 2 minutes at high intensity.
• Behavioral Light-Intensity Interval Training (LIIT) Breaks to Sitting
  LIIT Breaks: a 3.5-hour sitting will be interrupted every 30 min with 6-min LIIT Breaks. Each 6-min LIIT break comprises a one-minute warm-up, followed by a 2-minute light-intensity interval, one minute rest (sitting on a cycle ergometer) followed by another 2-minute light-intensity interval.

Primary outcome measures

• Change in task-evoked brain activity [Time frame: Immediately before intervention, 2 x during the intervention (50 min and 120 min into the intervention), and immediately after the intervention]

Secondary outcome measures (3)

• Change in cognitive functions [Time frame: Immediately before intervention, 2 x during the intervention (50 min and 120 min into the intervention), and immediately after the intervention]
• Change in cognitive functions [Time frame: Immediately before intervention and immediately after the intervention]
• Change in resting stated and task evoked brain activity [Time frame: Immediately before intervention and immediately after the intervention]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Age 40-75 years
• BMI <40 kg/m2
• Sedentary (≥ 6 h/day sitting by a survey question)
• Physically inactive adults based on the CSEP-PATH: Physical Activity and Sedentayr Behaviour Questionnaire (PASB-Q) Adult (low or medium physical activity range equivalent to less than 300 min of moderate intensity physical activity per week)
• Capable of exercising vigorously based on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ+)
• Has a medical clearance for maximal exercise and HIIT from a physician
• Normotensive or participant's blood pressure is controlled
• Intelligence quotient (IQ) ≥85
• Fasting plasma glucose <126 mg/dL
• Good or corrected vision and hearing
• Right-handed
• No significant abnormalities on the ECG during the maximal exercise test
• No signs and symptoms that suggest an underlying cardiovascular disease as recorded during the maximal exercise test by a study physician.
• No indications to prematurely stop the maximal exercise test as outlined by the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription
• Concussion if more than 12 months before the study screening.
• History of cancer but in full remission for at least 12 months and no history of chemotherapy, signed off by the physician or an oncologist

Exclusion criteria

• Physical disability or musculoskeletal disease prohibitive to vigorous exercise
• Learning disabilities
• Cognitive impairment (MoCA <26)
• Type 1 or 2 diabetes
• Neurological condition (e.g., Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson, Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment)
• Color blindness
• Brain injury (e.g., traumatic brain injury, stroke, concussion)
• Migraine headaches
• Presence of other health conditions that may be exacerbated by exercise
• History of heart disease
• High cholesterol not controlled by medication
• Signs and symptoms indicative of underlying cardiovascular disease
• A chronic pulmonary disease
• Emphysema
• Pulmonary embolus
• Asthma
• History of renal disease
• History of seizures
• A neuropsychiatric disorder
• Osteoporosis if it interferes with an individual's ability to exercise
• Severe back problems
• Severe arthritis if it interferes with an individual's ability to exercise
• Thyroid disorder not controlled by medication
• Polyneuropathy
• Sleep disorders
• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
• Hepatitis C
• History of long Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• History of cancer if not in full remission for at least 12 months and if a participant had the history of chemotherapy
• Current or past smoking <12 months
• Corticosteroid intake < 31 days before screening
• Opioids taken < 6 months from screening
• Anabolic androgens taken < 31 days before screening
• A serious illness or hospitalization in the last six months
• Currently taking medications that can affect the central nervous system (except for anxiolytics)
• Current participation in an ongoing trial likely to influence exercise ability or cognitive function

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Crossover

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Prevention

Study locations

United States · 1 center

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Urbana

Publications

• Pindus DM, Paluska S, So J, Wyczesany M, Ligeza TS, Sarol J, Kuang J, Quiroz FB, Shanmugam R, Syed T, Kos M, Khan N, Hillman C, Kramer A. Breaking prolonged sitting with high-intensity interval training to improve cognitive and brain health in middle-aged and older adults: a protocol for the pilot feasibility HIIT2SITLess trial. BMJ Open. 2025 May 7;15(5):e095415. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-095415. PMID 40341152

Identifiers

NCT: NCT06243016 · 23938 · 1R21AG080411-01A1

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗