Exploring the Effects of Exercise, Fatigue, and Cognitive Function

Physical exercise has long been recognized as a way to improve a person's physical health. There is also currently a strong body of research showing a relationship between exercise and cognitive function. Specifically, an increase in the alpha peak frequency and beta waves, neural markers associated with problem-solving, concentration, and cognitive processing. However, in most of the literature we have looked at regarding cognitive function and exercise, there has been a lack of testing using different types of exercise and levels of the rate of perceived exertion (RPE). The overarching goal of this project is to examine the relationship between different exercises at different levels of intensity and brain activity to determine which exercises lead to the highest levels of these brain waves with the lowest muscle fatigue. Three exercise protocols were designed at varying intensity levels: an easy-paced mile run, a high-intensity sprint, and a bodyweight exercise set. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and surface electromyography (sEMG), brain wave activity and muscle fatigue were measured before and after each protocol. Alpha peak and beta waves were isolated and compared using EEGLAB signal processing. The degree of muscle fatigue was determined using signal-processing techniques in MATLAB. Results revealed observable pre- and post-exercise differences in alpha peak frequency and beta wave levels across each protocol. These findings suggest that lower-intensity exercise over a longer duration may produce greater cognitive benefits than high-intensity, short-duration efforts. Future research work will expand the sample size to explore the relationship between fatigue, exercise type, and cognitive processing more thoroughly.