Enhancing psychological health and cognitive inhibition in college students: insights from mindfulness training and high-intensity interval training
Question
How do 6-week mindfulness training and HIIT compare with control for psychological health and cognitive inhibition in college students with mild depressive symptoms?
Summary
In college students with mild depressive symptoms, 6 weeks of treadmill HIIT or mindfulness training reduced anxiety and depression scores and improved response-inhibition accuracy compared with baseline and control patterns. Mindfulness showed stronger sustained effects at 6-week follow-up and improved interference-inhibition accuracy, while HIIT did not improve flanker accuracy or reaction time.
Methodology
- College students with mild depressive symptoms; final per-protocol sample about 117.
- 117 participants.
- Running.
- Work intervals: 15-50 s.
- Recovery: 25-60 s low-intensity intervals.
- Intensity: Full-speed high-intensity running; warm-up to 50-60% maximum HR.
- 25 min.
- 2 sessions/week.
- 6 weeks.
- Randomized single-blind controlled trial with three groups and follow-up
- Anxiety, Depression, Response inhibition, and Interference inhibition were tracked.
Outcomes
Anxiety
HIIT reduced anxiety scores at post-test and follow-up versus baseline.
Group x time p<0.001; HIIT post and follow-up both p<0.05 vs baseline.
Depression
HIIT reduced depression scores at post-test and follow-up versus baseline.
Group x time p<0.001; MT favored over HIIT at follow-up p=0.002.
Response inhibition
HIIT improved stop-signal accuracy.
HIIT 90.16 +/- 0.63 to 95.29 +/- 0.59 post and 95.19 +/- 0.47 follow-up; p<0.05.
Interference inhibition
HIIT did not significantly improve flanker accuracy.
HIIT post and follow-up p>0.05 vs baseline.
Reaction time
Neither stop-signal nor flanker reaction time improved.
No significant time or interaction effects for reaction-time outcomes.
Insights
- HIIT may support short-term mood and response-inhibition outcomes in college students with mild symptoms.
- Mindfulness outperformed HIIT on sustained mood benefits and interference inhibition.
- Retention and per-protocol exclusion are important uncertainty points.
Limitations
- Per-protocol rather than ITT analysis
- Self-reported anxiety/depression questionnaires
- Mild depressive symptoms only
- Incomplete intensity-monitoring detail
- College-student sample
Safety
- Participants with heart disease, fracture, or other exercise-limiting physical defects were excluded.
- No adverse-event details were reported.