Physical exercise may help boost memory, according to a recent study.
This is not the first time physical exertion has been linked to cognitive improvement. Last month, The Dallas Express reported that everyday physical activity can produce short-term cognitive benefits. In that study, published in October in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, researchers found that exercise was correlated with higher processing speed, though they did not observe improvements in memory.
In the latest study, however, researchers discovered that individuals who engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity than usual produced better results in memory tests the following day.
The small study, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, looked at 76 people aged 50 to 83. Participants wore activity trackers for eight days and were tested daily.
“Exercise leads to increased blood flow and stimulation of neurotransmitters thought to contribute to improvements in cognitive function,” Mikaela Bloomberg, lead study author and senior research fellow at University College London, told Yahoo!Life, speculating on the linkage between physical activity and enhanced recall.
Dr. Vernon Williams, sports neurologist and founding director of the Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, said exercise also drives the creation of new neurons in the hippocampus, an area involved in memory and learning.
“Exercise also promotes neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new connections and reorganize itself,” Williams said, per Yahoo!Life.
The authors did not nail down the amount of exercise required to net the cognitive benefits. Ultimately, Bloomberg said the benefits were presented when more exercise than usual was performed.
“We just looked at when people did more physical activity than their usual. … Regardless of their current level of physical activity, doing more was better,” she said.
Earlier this week, The Dallas Express reported on a study that showed that individuals with higher levels of thigh muscle in midlife possessed larger brain volumes. Though the association between the two metrics is unclear, it may suggest that strength training can promote a healthier brain and, ultimately, improve cognitive function.