Aysu Biçer
26 January 2023•Update: 26 January 2023
LONDON
The amount of time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity in midlife can help enhance brain power, according to new research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The novel study showed that exercise intensity levels might have an impact on cognitive performance in later life.
"Engagement in physical activity (PA) has been linked to the building of cognitive reserve, which delays the onset of cognitive decline in later life. However, all aspects of PA, including intensity and volume, decrease throughout the life course, which might have consequences for cognition later in life," the research said.
The study found that the intensity level was related to better working memory and mental processes, while changing it with just 6-7 minutes of sedentary behavior was associated with poorer cognitive performance.
They drew on UK-born participants in the 1970 British Cohort Study whose health was examined throughout childhood and adulthood.
In a follow-up study between 2016 and 2018, a total of 8,581 participants aged 46-47 took various cognitive tests for verbal memory and executive function, which were used to examine cross-sectional associations between 24-hour movement behaviors and standardized cognition scores.
