Being physically active is very important for overall health in older people.
In a new study, researchers found all exercises with different types of intensities could benefit brain health in older people.
The research was conducted by a team from the School of Kinesiology and Graduate Program in Neuroscience.
In the current study, the team tested 17 older people with an average age of 73.
They put participants through aerobic tests at moderate, heavy and very heavy levels of exercise intensity.
The participants completed a pre- and post-exercise task to measure cognitive functions such as executive function.
Executive function is mainly controlled by the frontal lobe in the brain. It includes information selection and inhibition.
The researchers found that bouts of aerobic exercise, as brief as 10 minutes, could enhance the cognitive function of older adults.
In addition, these benefits could be achieved by people previously encouraged not to exercise.
The boost in executive function was found in participants at all levels of exercise intensity.
The team also found that the post-exercise boost to cognitive function was not limited to people with high cardiorespiratory fitness.
The researchers suggest that people limited to moderate levels of exercise intensity may get similar cognitive benefits by just exercising for 10 minutes.
The findings show how impactful exercise can be on people’s health.
The team also suggests that the immediate cognitive benefits of exercise could help motivate people to engage in more physical activity.
The lead author of the study is Kinesiology professor Matthew Heath.
The study is published in Brain Research.
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Further reading: Brain Research.
