High-intensity exercise improves memory in seniors

  • A study found older adults (60+) who engaged in high-intensity interval training for 12 weeks showed significant memory improvement, while those engaging in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise did not.
  • A study involving young adults found greater fitness gains from HIIT were associated with greater increases in BDNF.

A study in which 64 sedentary older adults (aged 60-88) participated in a 12-week exercise program found that those who engaged in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) saw an improvement of up to 30% in memory performance while participants who engaged in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise saw no improvement, on average.

Moreover, improvements in fitness levels directly correlated with improvement in memory performance.

Participants participated in three sessions per week. A control group engaged in stretching only.

The HIIT protocol included four sets of high-intensity exercise on a treadmill for four minutes, followed by a recovery period. The MICT protocol included one set of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for nearly 50 minutes.

Participants were assessed using a Mnemonic Similarity task and two tasks that assess executive function. The Mnemonic Similarity Task is highly sensitive to functions carried out by the hippocampus, which is the brain region most affected by exercise, through the creation of new neurons.

An earlier study involving 95 healthy young adults who underwent a 6 week HIIT program also showed significant improvements in this type of memory. Those who experienced greater fitness gains also experienced greater increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

Reference: 

Kovacevic, A., Fenesi, B., Paolucci, E., & Heisz, J. J. (2019). The effects of aerobic exercise intensity on memory in older adults. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 45(6), 591–600. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2019-0495

Heisz, J. J., Clark, I. B., Bonin, K., Paolucci, E. M., Michalski, B., Becker, S., & Fahnestock, M. (2017). The Effects of Physical Exercise and Cognitive Training on Memory and Neurotrophic Factors. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 29(11), 1895–1907. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01164

Related News

Here’s a different aspect to

More findings from the long-running Mayo Clinic Study of Aging reveal that using a computer plus taking moderate exercise reduces your risk of mild cognitive impairment significantly more than you would expect from simply adding together these two beneficial activities.

The study involved 4,134 people (average age 59) who worked at the French national gas and electric company, of whom most worked at the company for their entire career.

I’ve mentioned before that, for some few people, exercise doesn’t seem to have a benefit, and the benefits of exercise for fighting age-related cognitive decline may not apply to those carrying the Alzheimer’s gene.

Data from the Women's Health Study, involving 6,183 older women (65+), has found that it isn’t the amount of fat but the type of fat that is associated with cognitive decline.

Interpreting brain activity is a very tricky business. Even the most basic difference can be interpreted in two ways — i.e., what does it mean if a region is more active in one group of people compared to another?

Damage to the retina (retinopathy) doesn’t produce noticeable symptoms in the early stages, but a new study indicates it may be a symptom of more widespread damage. In the ten-year study, involving 511 older women (average age 69), 7.6% (39) were found to have retinopathy.

Older adults who sleep poorly react to stress with increased inflammation

Data from the very large and long-running Cognitive Function and Ageing Study, a U.K. study involving 13,004 older adults (65+), from which 329 brains are now available for analysis, has found that cognitive lifestyle score (CLS) had no effect on Alzheimer’s pathology.

Previous research has been equivocal about whether cognitive training helps cognitively healthy older adults.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news