The effect of acute exercise on the cortisol awakening response
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Allan H. Goldfarb, Professor (Creator)
- Suzanne Vrshek-Schallhorn, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director (Creator)
- Laurie Wideman, Safrit-Ennis Distinguished Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: The effects of acute exercise on the cortisol awakening response (CAR), characterized by the rapid increase in cortisol concentrations within the 30–45 min following sleep offset has yet to be fully elucidated. Thus, our study investigated the effects of late-evening acute exercise on the CAR the following morning. We hypothesized that exercise would have a significant effect on the CAR the following morning. Twelve participants (mean (SD): age = 23 (4) years; mass = 76.8 (8.7) kg; height = 175.6 (5.0) cm; V?O2max = 48.9 (7.5) ml.kg-1.min-1) reported to the laboratory in the evening (1800 h) on two occasions and were randomly assigned to either exercise for one hour (70–75% of maximal power output) or rest condition. Blood and saliva samples were assayed for cortisol. Mixed-effects models determined the effect of exercise on the cortisol response post-waking in both blood and saliva. Participants demonstrated an average exercise-induced increase in circulating cortisol of 477.3%, with actual mean (SD) heart rate relative to maximum of 87.04% (6.14%). Model results demonstrated a negative effect for exercise condition when modeling the serum and salivary cortisol responses to awakening via a quadratic growth model (serum, ßCondition = - 42.26 [95% CI - 64.52 to - 20.01], p < 0.001; saliva, ßCondition = - 11.55 [95% CI - 15.52 to - 7.57], p < 0.001). These results suggest that cortisol concentrations in saliva and blood are significantly lower the morning following a prior evening exercise session. Therefore, the CAR may serve as a useful biomarker to monitor responses to exercise training, although the underlying mechanism for these decreases in the CAR should be investigated further.
The effect of acute exercise on the cortisol awakening response
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Created on 8/14/2023
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Additional Information
- Publication
- European Journal of Applied Physiology 123
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- circadian, cycling, hormonal profile, sleep