Abstract
Athletes undergo extensive physical and mental training in preparation for games and plays requiring split second decisions and movements. Athletes are constantly being pressured to perform to the best of their ability on and off the field where as non-athletes do not undergo the same level of physical and mental training. This raised the question; will athletes perform better than non-athletes on cognitive tasks pre, during and post exercise? It is expected that athletes will perform better on cognitive tasks as they are used to making decisions at a moment's notice. For example, a basketball game with a score of 68-64 and 20 seconds left in the last quarter. Athletes in the game are expected to know how many possessions are left in the game, run the correct plays and adjust their strategy if the other team scores, all within seconds. The objective of this study was to identify differences in the cognitive performance of athletes and non-athletes before and after moderate exercise. Athletes were defined as individuals participating on a Division III sports team and non-athletes were defined as individuals not participating on a Division III sports team. Physiological differences in athletes versus non-athletes before, during and after moderate exercise were also observed. More specifically, performance on a mad math minute, recovery heart rate and blood pressure were examined both prior to and after the participant exercised. Average heart rate was examined prior to, during and after exercise as well. Female college students (N = 18) participated in an in-lab experiment in order to examine the associations between exercise and cognitive performance and how exercise affects heart rate and blood pressure. The results of the study showed that overall heart rate and blood pressure increased after exercise. Additionally, as expected, the recovery heart rate of athletes after exercise was significantly lower than non-athletes. The results suggest that exercise does affect physiological responses such as heart rate and blood pressure, but further research is needed to determine if exercise affects cognitive performance.