A short burst of just about 30 minutes of daily physical activity like brisk walking, cycling to work, or dancing can provide a mental boost to middle-aged people throughout their following day, a new study finds.
Previous studies have found that people’s cognitive performance improves in the hours after exercise, but exactly how long this benefit lasts is unknown.
The new study, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, found that, on average, people aged 50 to 83 who did more moderate to vigorous physical activity than usual did better in memory tests the day after.
They also seemed to perform better in the cognitive tests if they spent less time sitting and got six hours or more of sleep, researchers from the University College London said.
In the study, scientists assessed data from 76 men and women who wore activity trackers for eight days and took cognitive tests each day.
The findings suggest that the short-term memory benefits of physical activity may last longer than previously thought.
Scientists say the brain benefits of daily exercise may extend to the next day instead of just a few hours after workouts.
Getting more deep sleep may add to this cognitive improvement, researchers say.
“Moderate or vigorous activity means anything that gets your heart rate up – this could be brisk walking, dancing or walking up a few flights of stairs. It doesn’t have to be structured exercise,” study lead author Mikaela Bloomberg said.
However, researchers cautioned that the study was done on a small scale, adding that it needs to be replicated with a larger sample of participants.
They explained that the brain benefits of exercise could be due to an increase in blood flow to the brain after exercise and stimulate the release of hormones like dopamine that have a range of cognitive functions.
While these chemical changes may last up to a few hours after a workout, other brain states linked to exercise can be more long-lasting, scientists say.
For instance, doing more moderate or vigorous physical activity compared to one’s average is linked to better memory of events the next day.
On the contrary, more time spent being sedentary than usual is linked to worse working memory the next day, researchers say.
Citing a limitation of the study, scientists said the participants involved in the research were a healthy group, meaning the results may not be the same for those with neurocognitive disorders.
“This study provides evidence that the immediate cognitive benefits of exercise may last longer than we thought. It also suggests good sleep quality separately contributes to cognitive performance,” Andrew Steptoe, another author of the study, said.
