A new study suggests moderate to vigorous physical activity can boost scores on memory tests. Adding to the evidence that daily exercise is good for the brain.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A new study finds physical activity isn’t just good for our bodies. It can also boost our moods. NPR’s Allison Aubrey reports on what researchers found when they evaluated the link between daily exercise and memory.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: There’s no doubt that exercise is good for your heart, your muscles and your bones. Regular physical activity can also reduce the risk of cognitive decline. The latest study included men and women aged 50 up to 83 years old who agreed to wear fitness trackers and to complete a bunch of cognitive tests, including memory tests. Here is study author Mikaela Bloomberg, a senior research fellow at University College London.
MIKAELA BLOOMBERG: We saw that more physical activity was associated with better next-day memory performance.
AUBREY: And getting good sleep seemed to add to the improvement. The participants were a pretty healthy bunch without any cognitive problems and got about an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.
BLOOMBERG: That’s pretty substantial for this age group, certainly, so – and moderate physical activity can be something like brisk walking, but it’s still a lot of time spent being physically active.
AUBREY: Daily exercise did not boost scores on all tests. For example, it didn’t change results on attention tests. But it did help boost scores on tests designed to measure how well people remember everyday events.
BLOOMBERG: One of the tests for episodic memory is – it’s a picture recall test, and in that test, participants are – they’re just shown a picture and then asked whether they’ve seen it previously after a delay.
AUBREY: On days when participants got more than their usual amount of exercise, their scores improved the following day.
BLOOMBERG: We’re a bit surprised that we could see this clear improvement.
AUBREY: And while the changes were relatively minor, equivalent to about a 2- to 5% boost, the findings from the small study add to the evidence that a daily exercise habit can have a lot of different benefits. Dr. Jonathan Rosand is professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and the founder of the Global Brain Care Coalition.
JONATHAN ROSAND: I do think that this study provides evidence in support of physical activity improving your brain performance, if you will, the next day.
AUBREY: Not everyone can get an hour of physical activity every day, but getting as much as you can as often as you can, even if it’s just walking or moving your body, has its benefits. The CDC points to research that finds cognitive decline is nearly twice as common in people who are inactive. And Dr. Rosand says other research shows exercise can help reduce the risk of stroke and dementia.
ROSAND: There’s no question that continuing a pattern of physical activity that fits into your lifestyle over time will protect your brain health.
AUBREY: All the more reason to be as physically active as you can be.
Allison Aubrey, NPR News.
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