Can Intense Exercise Help You Think Better?
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 10:03PM Omar Morales High intensity aerobic is a natural for building stamina, burning calories, and maintaining a healthy heart, but did you know it may also help you think better? A new study published in the Archives of Neurology showed that elevating the heart rate by doing high intensity exercise helps improve cognitive function in older women.
High Intensity Aerobics: Better Thinking?
by Hector Melo A.In this study, thirty-three adults with symptoms of mild age-related cognitive impairment attended either a high intensity aerobic session or a stretching class four days a week for six months.
During the aerobics classes, the participants got their heart rates up to around 80 percent of their maximal heart rate for forty-five to sixty minutes per session. Their cognitive ability was tested at baseline, half way through the program, and at the completion of the study.
The results? Not only did the group who did high intensity aerobic exercise experience improvements in cardiovascular fitness, but they also showed better cognitive processing and a greater ability to multi-task.
The improvement in cognitive function was more pronounced in women than in men for reasons that aren’t completely understood.
What is Mild Cognitive Impairment?
Mild cognitive impairment is a condition where thinking and processing abilities are reduced more than what would be expected with normal aging – but aren’t as serious as what’s seen in Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
It’s a sort of enhanced version of the normal cognitive changes and memory loss that occurs with aging. People who have mild cognitive impairment are at a somewhat higher risk of eventually developing Alzheimer’s disease.
High Intensity Aerobic to Improve Cognitive Function
It’s encouraging that high intensity aerobic exercise helps to improve cognitive function in this group of people. Whether or not high intensity aerobic exercise could also help to ward off Alzheimer’s disease is still unknown.
Researchers believe that high intensity aerobics may alter glucose metabolism in such a way that more glucose gets to the brain – thereby increasing thinking capacity.
Aerobic exercise also helps to reduce high blood pressure – another risk factor for cognitive problems.
Studies are showing that high intensity aerobic exercise has more health benefits than slower, more sustained aerobic activity – although any exercise is helpful from a health standpoint.
by Envios
The bottom line? Get moving any which way you can. Not only is it important for the heart - but it could help you think better and lower the risk of dementia too.
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