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It is well-known that regular exercise helps maintain brain function. New research shows that brain activity increases and memory improves immediately after a brief workout.
And the more effort you set into this exercise, the more you'll improve. In addition, the intensity you'll be able to achieve on this one exercise predicts how much of a mental boost you'll get in case you exercise at the identical intensity for a protracted time frame. The findings were presented on the Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting on March 24, 2019. The researchers recruited 34 people, with a mean age of 67, and gave each a baseline functional MRI (fMRI) scan, which reflects brain activity, and a memory test during which that they had to recall faces. . The researchers then asked participants to exercise on a stationary bike for 20 minutes to measure their physical exercise.
Then they repeated the fMRI scan and the memory test. The participants were divided into two groups based on their level of exertion – either moderate intensity or low intensity. Otherwise, each groups had the identical stationary bike program: 50 minutes of exercise, 3 times every week, for 3 months. The fMRI scan and memory tests were repeated at the top of three months. People in each groups improved their cardio fitness.
The researchers found that those that continued to perform at a moderate intensity level had higher mental test scores at the top than those that stayed at a lower intensity for 3 months.
The potential link between the extent of exertion and cognitive enhancement during any exercise and the way this will likely predict subsequent cognitive improvement is intriguing. But even in case you start at a low level of exercise intensity, increasing your physical effort over time after which maintaining it consistently can have positive effects on the brain.
