To explore the effects of different types of acute exercise on the working memory of sedentary college students, so as to provide a basis for exercise intervention.

From April 15 to May 30, 2023, a total of 42 sedentary college students were recruited from one university in Beijing. Using a single-blind, completely randomized experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to an open-skill exercise group, a closed-skill exercise group, or a control group, with 14 participants in each group. The open-skill exercise group engaged in 30 minutes of badminton, the closed-skill exercise group performed 30 minutes of running, and the control group remained seated for 30 minutes. All participants completed a 2-back working memory task and had their electroencephalogram (EEG) data recorded before and after the intervention.

The accuracy rates of the open-skill exercise group, closed-skill exercise group, and control group (0.90±0.06, 0.94±0.05; 0.88±0.05, 0.94±0.05; 0.85±0.10, 0.90±0.06) showed a significant main effect of time (F=37.14, P < 0.01). Reaction times [(923.65±145.08, 711.56±140.93; 909.59±180.28, 807.85±169.66; 917.05±166.35, 871.86±186.07)ms] showed both a significant main effect of time and a significant interaction between group and time (F=70.55, 11.83, P < 0.01). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that all three groups improved in accuracy and reaction time compared to pre-test values, with no significant difference in accuracy between groups. However, the reaction time of the open-skill exercise group was significantly faster than that of the control group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference between the closed-skill exercise group and the control group (P > 0.05). For EEG data, the P2 amplitude showed a significant main effect of time and a significant interaction between groups and time (F=10.60, 7.66, P < 0.01), with the open-skill exercise group exhibiting a higher P2 amplitude than the control group (P < 0.05), while the closed-skill exercise group showed no significant difference compared to the control group (P > 0.05). The N2 amplitude showed a significant main effect of time (F=5.94, P < 0.05). The P3 amplitude showed significant main effects of time and electrode position, as well as a significant interaction between groups and time (F=23.16, 4.53, 5.85, P < 0.05), with both exercise groups exhibiting higher P3 amplitudes than the control group (P < 0.05), but no significant difference between the two exercise groups (P > 0.05).

Open-skill exercise is more effective than closed-skill exercise in improving the working memory of sedentary college students.