Physical activity total showed significant positive total and direct associations with a reaction-time-based executive function composite in late adolescents, with significant indirect associations through both intrusive and deliberate rumination, and mindfulness moderating the intrusive rumination pathways.
Key Findings
Results
Higher total physical activity was associated with higher (worse) reaction-time-based executive function scores, indicating slower or less efficient RT-based task performance.
The association was described as an 'unexpected positive PA_total-EF_RT association indicating slower or less efficient RT-based performance'
PA_total showed significant positive total and direct associations with EF_RT
Lower EF_RT values indicate better RT-based task performance, so positive coefficients reflect longer reaction times or larger RT costs
The sample consisted of 450 late adolescents (266 males; aged 17-19 years)
Gender was included as a covariate in all structural equation models
Results
Physical activity total showed significant indirect associations with the reaction-time-based executive function composite through both intrusive rumination and deliberate rumination as parallel pathways.
A dual-rumination parallel indirect pathway model was tested using structural equation modeling
Bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples was used to estimate indirect associations
Both the intrusive rumination (IR) pathway and the deliberate rumination (DR) pathway yielded significant indirect associations
The parallel indirect associations were tested simultaneously within the same structural equation model
Results
Mindfulness moderated the association between physical activity total and intrusive rumination, and the association between intrusive rumination and the executive function composite.
Observed-variable interaction terms were used to model moderation effects within the structural equation modeling framework
Mindfulness moderated the PA_total → IR association
Mindfulness moderated the IR → EF_RT association
The conditional indirect association through intrusive rumination varied across levels of mindfulness
Mindfulness did not appear to moderate the deliberate rumination pathway based on the reported findings
Methods
The executive function composite (EF_RT) was derived from three computerized reaction-time-based tasks assessing inhibition, working memory updating, and task shifting.
Tasks included the Flanker task (inhibitory control), the 2-back task (working memory updating), and the More-Odd Shifting task (cognitive flexibility/shifting)
EF_RT was derived from standardized RT-based indicators across these three tasks
The composite reflected reaction time performance rather than accuracy-based performance
This RT-based composite approach means positive associations indicate worse, not better, executive function performance
Discussion
The study was cross-sectional in design, and findings are characterized as associations rather than evidence of causal effects on executive function ability.
Authors explicitly state findings 'should be interpreted as cross-sectional associations involving RT-based executive-function performance'
The authors note the association is 'rather than as evidence of causal effects on EF ability'
Late adolescence (ages 17-19) was identified as a period when 'executive functions are relatively consolidated but remain sensitive to behavioral and environmental influences'
The unexpected positive direction of the PA_total-EF_RT association is flagged as a key interpretive caveat throughout the abstract
What This Means
This research suggests that in late adolescents (ages 17-19), doing more physical activity was unexpectedly linked to slower reaction times on computer-based tasks that measure executive functions like attention, memory, and mental flexibility — not faster or better performance as might be expected. The study involved 450 teenagers who completed questionnaires about their physical activity, tendency to ruminate (replay thoughts in their minds), and mindfulness levels, as well as computerized cognitive tasks. Importantly, the researchers measured executive function using reaction times, meaning that higher scores reflect slower responses, which the authors themselves describe as an 'unexpected' finding.
The study also found that two types of repetitive thinking — intrusive rumination (unwanted, recurring thoughts) and deliberate rumination (intentional reflection) — both served as pathways linking physical activity to these reaction-time outcomes. Additionally, mindfulness appeared to influence how strongly physical activity and intrusive rumination were connected, and how strongly intrusive rumination related to task performance, with the overall effect through intrusive rumination varying depending on a person's level of mindfulness.
Because this was a cross-sectional study (meaning everyone was measured at one point in time), it is not possible to determine whether physical activity caused changes in cognitive performance or vice versa, or whether other factors explain the relationships. The authors caution that the positive association between physical activity and the reaction-time composite reflects slower RT-based scores specifically, and should not be interpreted as meaning physical activity harms executive function ability more broadly. The findings highlight that psychological factors like rumination and mindfulness may play a role in the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance in teenagers.
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Wang S, Lu M, Yang Y, Lu B, Zhou Y, Ding S. (2026). Physical activity and executive function in adolescents: Dual rumination pathways and mindfulness moderation.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357384