It just got harder to avoid taking the stairs. A study recently published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement found that brief bouts of stair climbing improved cognitive switching performance and made individuals who engaged in this activity feel more energetic and happier.  

The study said that participants who climbed stairs more intensively tended to have faster responses on cognitive tests, and these findings applied to both men and women.

More about the study

Stair climbing is a brief physical activity that can be seamlessly incorporated into daily life. It involves upward movement against gravity, making it a time-efficient way to confer health benefits. Study author Andreas Stenling and his colleagues wanted to examine the effects of six one-minute bursts of stair climbing on cognitive performance and mood. They hypothesised that these brief bouts of stair climbing would improve both mood and cognitive performance.

The study included 52 undergraduate students from the University of Otago, 26 of whom were female, with an average age of 20 years. Participants completed a physical activity readiness questionnaire (PAR-Q) and had their weight and height measured. They were then randomly assigned to two groups.

What did the research find?

Results showed that participants engaged in an average of 8 hours of physical activity per week, though there were substantial variations among individuals. Of the participants, 75 per cent were of normal weight, and 23 per cent were classified as overweight. Participants performed better on cognitive switching tasks after climbing stairs.

Cognitive switching tasks involve shifting attention or mental focus between different tasks, rules, or cognitive demands and are used to measure cognitive flexibility and executive function. On average, participants who climbed stairs also reported feeling more energetic and happier than the control group.

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