Is it better to sit down, stand up or walk when performing memory and arithmetic activities?

Abstract

It is now accepted that performing a cognitive task impacts postural control (Polskaia and Lajoie 2016; Vuillerme et al. Neurosci Lett 291: 77-80, 2000). However, the reverse impact of posture on cognitive performance is less documented. The present study investigated performance in two cognitive activities (memory and arithmetic) performed in three different postural conditions (sitting, standing, and walking). Overall, our data suggest that the posture adopted during a task can improve cognitive performance with a better answer for arithmetic in the sitting position than during walking but more correctly recalled words while walking. This study, thus, suggests that there could be preferential association between cognition and posture, i.e., memory cognitive performance can be improved when walking and mental arithmetic while sitting.

Keywords: Arithmetic; Cognitive performance; Memory; Posture.