Breaking Sitting with High-intensity Interval Training for Brain Health

NCT ID: NCT06243016

Last Updated: 2025-02-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 54 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-05-07
• Study Completion Date: 2025-07-31

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Aging

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Breaks

Sitting interrupted every 30 min by 6-min HIIT bouts.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Breaks to Sitting

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

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.

Light-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Breaks

Sitting interrupted every 30 min by 6-min LIIT bouts.

Group Type: SHAM_COMPARATOR

Light-Intensity Interval Training (LIIT) Breaks to Sitting

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

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.

Interventions

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.

Intervention Type: 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.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Age 40-75 years

2. BMI <40 kg/m2

3. Sedentary (≥ 6 h/day sitting by a survey question)

4. 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)

5. Capable of exercising vigorously based on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ+)

6. Has a medical clearance for maximal exercise and HIIT from a physician

7. Normotensive or participant's blood pressure is controlled

8. Intelligence quotient (IQ) ≥85

9. Fasting plasma glucose <126 mg/dL

10. Good or corrected vision and hearing

11. Right-handed

12. No significant abnormalities on the ECG during the maximal exercise test

13. No signs and symptoms that suggest an underlying cardiovascular disease as recorded during the maximal exercise test by a study physician.

14. No indications to prematurely stop the maximal exercise test as outlined by the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription

15. Concussion if more than 12 months before the study screening.

16. 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

1. Physical disability or musculoskeletal disease prohibitive to vigorous exercise

2. Learning disabilities

3. Cognitive impairment (MoCA <26)

4. Type 1 or 2 diabetes

5. Neurological condition (e.g., Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson, Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment)

6. Color blindness

7. Brain injury (e.g., traumatic brain injury, stroke, concussion)

8. Migraine headaches

9. Presence of other health conditions that may be exacerbated by exercise

10. History of heart disease

11. High cholesterol not controlled by medication

12. Signs and symptoms indicative of underlying cardiovascular disease

13. A chronic pulmonary disease

14. Emphysema

15. Pulmonary embolus

16. Asthma

17. History of renal disease

18. History of seizures

19. A neuropsychiatric disorder

20. Osteoporosis if it interferes with an individual's ability to exercise

21. Severe back problems

22. Severe arthritis if it interferes with an individual's ability to exercise

23. Thyroid disorder not controlled by medication

24. Polyneuropathy

25. Sleep disorders

26. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

27. Hepatitis C

28. History of long Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

29. History of cancer if not in full remission for at least 12 months and if a participant had the history of chemotherapy

30. Current or past smoking <12 months

31. Corticosteroid intake < 31 days before screening

32. Opioids taken < 6 months from screening

33. Anabolic androgens taken < 31 days before screening

34. A serious illness or hospitalization in the last six months

35. Currently taking medications that can affect the central nervous system (except for anxiolytics)

36. Current participation in an ongoing trial likely to influence exercise ability or cognitive function

• Minimum Eligible Age: 40 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 75 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Northeastern University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Dominika M Pindus, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Locations

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, Illinois, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Dominika M Pindus, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

pindus@illinois.edu

217-300-7317

Facility Contacts

Dominika M Pindus, PhD

Role: primary

pindus@illinois.edu

2173007317

References

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.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40341152 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

1R21AG080411-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

23938

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id