Exercise could prevent physical and psychological deteriorations,
especially during pandemic times of lock-down scenarios and social
isolation. But to meet both, the common exercise protocols require
optimization based on holistic investigations and with respect to
underlying processes. This study aimed to explore individual chronic and
acute effects of continuous and interval running exercise on physical
and cognitive performance, mood, and affect and underlying
neurophysiological factors during a terrestrial simulated space mission.
Six volunteers (three females) were isolated for 120 days. Accompanying
exercise training consisted of a continuous and interval running
protocol in a cross-over design. Incremental stage tests on a treadmill
were done frequently to test physical performance. Actigraphy was used
to monitor physical activity level. Cognitive performance, mood
(MoodMeter®), affect (PANAS), brain-derived neurotrophic
factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1),
vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and saliva cortisol were
investigated prior to, four times during, and after isolation, pre- and
post-exercise on two separate days, respectively. As a chronic effect,
physical performance increased (and IGF-1 tended) in the course of
isolation and training until the end of isolation. Subjective mood and
affect state, as well as cognitive performance, basal BDNF and VEGF
levels, were well-preserved across the intervention. No acute effects of
exercise were detected, besides slower reaction time after exercise in
two out of nine cognitive tests, testing sensorimotor speed and memory
of complex figures. Consistently higher basal IGF-1 concentrations and
faster reaction time in the psychomotor vigilance test were found for
the continuous compared to the interval running protocol. The results
suggest that 120 days of isolation and confinement can be undergone
without cognitive and mental deteriorations. Regular, individual aerobic
running training supporting physical fitness is hypothesized to play an
important role in this regard. Continuous running exercise seems to
trigger higher IGF-1 levels and vigilance compared to interval running.
Systematic and prolonged investigations and larger sample size are
required to follow up on exercise-protocol specific differences in order
to optimize the exercise intervention for long-term
psycho-physiological health and well-being.