title: Replacing sedentary time with sleep, light, or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity: effects on self-regulation and executive functioning.
abstract: Recent attention has highlighted the importance of reducing sedentary time for maintaining health and quality of life. However, it is unclear how changing sedentary behavior may influence executive functions and self-regulatory strategy use, which are vital for the long-term maintenance of a health behavior regimen. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine the estimated self-regulatory and executive functioning effects of substituting 30 min of sedentary behavior with 30 min of light activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), or sleep in a sample of older adults. This study reports baseline data collected from low-active healthy older adults (N = 247, mean age 65.4 ± 4.6 years) recruited to participate in a 6 month randomized controlled exercise trial examining the effects of various modes of exercise on brain health and function. Each participant completed assessments of physical activity self-regulatory strategy use (i.e., self-monitoring, goal-setting, social support, reinforcement, time management, and relapse prevention) and executive functioning. Physical activity and sedentary behaviors were measured using accelerometers during waking hours for seven consecutive days at each time point. Isotemporal substitution analyses were conducted to examine the effect on self-regulation and executive functioning should an individual substitute sedentary time with light activity, MVPA, or sleep. The substitution of sedentary time with both sleep and MVPA influenced both self-regulatory strategy use and executive functioning. Sleep was associated with greater self-monitoring (B = .23, p = .02), goal-setting (B = .32, p < .01), and social support (B = .18, p = .01) behaviors. Substitution of sedentary time with MVPA was associated with higher accuracy on 2-item (B = .03, p = .01) and 3-item (B = .02, p = .04) spatial working memory tasks, and with faster reaction times on single (B = -23.12, p = .03) and mixed-repeated task-switching blocks (B = -27.06, p = .04). Substitution of sedentary time with sleep was associated with marginally faster reaction time on mixed-repeated task-switching blocks (B = -12.20, p = .07) and faster reaction time on mixed-switch blocks (B = 17.21, p = .05), as well as reduced global reaction time switch cost (B = -16.86, p = .01). Substitution for light intensity physical activity did not produce significant effects. By replacing sedentary time with sleep and MVPA, individuals may bolster several important domains of self-regulatory behavior and executive functioning. This has important implications for the design of long-lasting health behavior interventions. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00438347.
authors: Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. fanning4@illinois.edu.
authors: J
authors: 0000-0002-5527-1698
authors: J
authors: Fanning
authors: Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Porter
authors: Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: E A
authors: EA
authors: Awick
authors: Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: D K
authors: DK
authors: Ehlers
authors: Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: S A
authors: SA
authors: Roberts
authors: The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Cooke
authors: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors: A Z
authors: AZ
authors: Burzynska
authors: Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, 11 Seashore Hall E., Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
authors: M W
authors: MW
authors: Voss
authors: The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: A F
authors: AF
authors: Kramer
authors: Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 906 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: McAuley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D000068356:Self-Control; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Executive function; Physical activity; Sedentary behavior; Self-regulation; Sleep