Attention Required for Treadmill Walking
Author Information
Author(s): Jean Philippe Regnaux, Johanna Robertson, Djamel Ben Smail, Olivier Daniel, Bernard Bussel
Primary Institution: Laboratoire d'Analyse du Mouvement, Hôpital R Poincaré, France; University of California Los Angeles, Department of Neurology, USA
Hypothesis
Does walking on a treadmill at a steady state require attentional resources in healthy adults?
Conclusion
Treadmill walking in young adults requires attentional resources and is not a purely automatic task.
Supporting Evidence
- Reaction times were longer during treadmill walking than sitting conditions.
- Gait cycle duration was unchanged by the addition of the reaction time task.
- Participants prioritized walking performance over cognitive task performance.
Takeaway
When people walk on a treadmill, they need to pay attention, which makes it harder to do other things at the same time.
Methodology
Participants walked on a treadmill while performing a reaction time task to assess attentional demands.
Limitations
The findings may be specific to treadmill walking and may not generalize to walking on the ground.
Participant Demographics
Eleven healthy adults, mean age 25.3 years, range 22–37, with no known impairments.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p < 0.01
Statistical Significance
p < 0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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