Effectiveness of physical activity on the short-term memory of lasallian physical therapy students

Date of Completion

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy

Keywords

Memory, Short-Term, Exercise, College Students

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of physical activity on improving the short-term memory of Lasallian Physical Therapy students of De La Salle Health Sciences Institute. A total of 277 students participated in the study and they were further classified as physical active and sedentary. The participants from each group were given the Digit span Text to assess the short-term memory prior to exercise intervention. Post-test using the Digit Span Test was also conducted after moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 20 minutes to determine if there is significant difference in short-term memory before and after physical activity. Out of 277 participants, 267 underwent the intervention while 10 dropped out from the study. Majority of the respondents were 19 years old, physically active, had more than 7 hours of sleep and did not take any caffeinated drinks prior to exercise. Results showed that Digit Span Test scores improved with a mean difference of 0.94 for physcialy active and 1.11 for sedentary after physical activity. However, independent T-test showed no significant difference in the improvement of short term memory between the physically active and sedentary students when Digit Span Test scores were compared using a 0.05 level of significance. This study shows that there is no sufficient evidence to conclude that physical activity is effective inimproving the short-term memory of Lasallian PT students. The authors then recommend that a follow-up study be conducted with considerations on the intensity of the exercise and other factors that may affect short-term memory such as nutrition, mood and concentration.

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