The Effect Of High Intensity Interval Training On Creative Thinking And Its Mechanism Of Action

Exercise and health are often inseparable topics,and it has gradually become a consensus that exercise promotes physical health.Numerous studies have found that exercise not only promotes physical health,but also enhances people’s mental health and has a positive impact on the performance of cognitive functions such as attention,memory,and thinking(including creative thinking).As globalization accelerates,the world becomes more diverse and complex,and uncertainties and challenges emerge,such as economic recession,technological innovation,and political unrest,and innovation can help people cope with changes and challenges and find new opportunities and solutions.On the one hand,innovation has become a key factor in driving social progress and development.China has been committed to promoting technological innovation and technology transformation in recent years,and the Made in China 2025 policy aims to improve the innovation capacity and competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industry.With the emergence of challenges such as Western technology blockade and economic sanctions in recent years,it has become urgent to improve innovation capabilities.On the other hand,people’s health has always been an important issue for the country,and "Healthy China" is a national strategy proposed by the Chinese government to promote the development of health in general.Studies have shown that exercise is an important influence on creativity,so it may be an effective way to promote health and stimulate creativity in the whole population.The relationship between exercise and creativity has been extensively researched,but researchers have used numerous forms of exercise,such as running,cycling,aerobics,fancy jumping rope,yoga,etc.,and the intensity of exercise varies,such as walking,moderate intensity,high intensity,etc.Some researchers have also explored the immediate and delayed effects of exercise on creativity,and their conclusions are mixed,but overall most studies support the positive effects of exercise on creativity.The overall majority of research supports the positive effects of exercise on creativity.Researchers have been interested in how exercise affects creativity and have found that executive function and creativity may be important factors in the relationship between the two.High-intensity interval training(HIIT)is a new form of high-intensity exercise that has become increasingly popular with modern people because of its high intensity,time-saving and fitness benefits.And some studies have shown that high-intensity interval exercise has a more positive impact on health.The literature on the effects of high-intensity interval exercise on creativity is limited,and this study explores the effects of high-intensity interval exercise on creativity and its mechanisms of action,providing more evidence for the development of this field.Experiment 1 explored the effects of HIIT on creative thinking.Twenty-nine current university students,14 of whom were male,were recruited.The subjects were randomly divided into a moderate intensity continuous exercise group(MICT,14individuals)and a HIIT group(15 individuals).In order to ensure that both groups consumed the same amount of energy during exercise,the MICT group rode at a moderate speed for about 12 minutes,while the HIIT group rode 10 times in a cycle of "30 seconds of high speed + 30 seconds of low speed or rest" for a total of 10 minutes.The creative thinking measure was completed immediately after the exercise.The results showed that the scores of divergent and convergent thinking in both groups were significantly higher than those before exercise,and the HIIT group scored significantly higher than the MICT group,but the differences of fluency and flexibility in the three dimensions of divergent thinking were not significant.The results indicated that HIIT could significantly affect creative thinking,and the effect of HIIT on creative thinking was better than that of MICT.In Experiment 2,the mechanism of action of HIIT’s effect on creative thinking was investigated.One week after the end of Experiment 1,the subjects came back to the laboratory and completed the creative thinking measure and the executive function inhibition control Stroop color word test in turn immediately after the exercise.The results showed that the HIIT group scored significantly higher in creative thinking than the MICT group.The difference in correctness between the two groups of subjects on the Stroop test was not significant,while the difference in the subjects’ reaction times was significant,with the HIIT group having significantly lower reaction times than the MICT group.This indicates that the HIIT group was more responsive to specific tasks after the exercise.The two correlations between exercise group,reaction time,and divergent thinking scores were significant,while the correlation between reaction time and convergent thinking was not significant.The results of the mediation effect analysis showed a significant mediating effect of executive function between motor grouping and divergent thinking.The results of Experiment 2 showed that the effect of HIIT on creative thinking was mediated through executive function.Experiment 3 examined whether the different feedback(positive/negative feedback)received by subjects with different exercise styles affected their self-efficacy and thus their executive function and creative thinking performance.The results showed that the subjects’ self-efficacy was higher after receiving positive feedback and lower after receiving negative feedback,that the self-efficacy intervention could affect divergent thinking performance but not convergent thinking performance,and that high self-efficacy improved divergent thinking performance in the MICT group,while low self-efficacy inhibited divergent thinking performance in the HIIT group.Through the above three experiments,it was found that HIIT had a positive effect on creative thinking,HIIT influenced divergent thinking by affecting executive functions,and self-efficacy may moderate the effect of HIIT on divergent thinking to some extent.