Exercise boosts brain health: A new study found that exercising for even just five minutes a day was associated with cognitive benefits for older adults.
Monitoring healthy habits: Nearly 600 study participants between the ages of 65 and 80 wore monitors on their wrist that tracked their activity and sleep throughout the duration of the study.
A call to action: The researchers hope that these findings encourage older consumers to incorporate physical activity into their day-to-day lives.
A new study conducted by researchers from the University of South Australia explored the impact of physical activity on brain health in later life.
The study revealed that consistently exercising – even for just five minutes a day – was associated with better cognitive health for older adults.
“There are three mutually exclusive lifestyle behaviours in the 24-hour day – sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity – and how these interact to influence our health outcomes,” researcher Dr. Madison Mellow said in a news release.
“For example, we know that being more active can improve our sleep; or having a better night’s sleep could boost our energy levels to perform physical activity the next day. But what we don’t know is the optimal balance of time spent in each of these behaviours to maximise cognitive performance.
“In this study we explored how different uses of time impact your brain. We found that higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity – that is, activity performed at higher intensities that increases your heart rate and breathing – was related to better cognitive performance,” she said.”
Assessing physical activity
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 585 adults between the ages of 65 and 80 enrolled in the Investigating Gains in Neurocognition in an Intervention Trial of Exercise (IGNITE) study. When the study began, none of the participants had any cognitive concerns.
The researchers monitored key areas in the participants’ lives – sedentary time, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sleep, and cognitive abilities.
For the duration of the study, the participants wore monitors on their wrists that tracked their physical activity and sleep. The researchers then performed cognitive assessments throughout the trial.
Long-term benefits of exercise
Ultimately, engaging in more exercise improved brain health; however, the opposite was also true – less exercise was detrimental to brain health.
These findings also held up when the researchers factored in demographic information and genetic backgrounds.
It’s also important to note that the researchers observed the biggest cognitive improvements in those who went from no exercise to just five minutes of exercise per day.
“Specifically, ‘huff-and-puff’ physical activity (like aerobic exercise) improves processing speed (how fast your brain thinks), executive function (how well you plan, focus, and multitask) and working memory (your ability to store information for short periods of time),” Dr. Mellow said.
Making healthy choices
The researchers hope that these findings encourage more older people to incorporate exercise – even in small doses – into their daily routines.
“Understanding that we need to prioritise physical activity – such as physical activity that gets our heart rates up, according to our findings – is the key,” researcher Dr. Audrey Collins said.
“In this instance, we hope that knowledge is power: boost your physical activity and boost your brain health to stay fit and well as you age.”