Short-term cognitive improvements from exercise can last for 24 hours

The short-term brain activation you get after exercise lasts through the next day, suggests a new study by researchers at University College London.

Previous studies in laboratory settings have shown that people's cognitive performance improves in the hours after exercise, but it is unclear how long this effect lasts.

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new researchPublished in International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activityfound that, on average, people between the ages of 50 and 83 who engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity than usual on a given day performed better on memory tests the next day.

Spending less time sitting and getting more than 6 hours of sleep led to better scores on memory tests the next day.

Deeper (slow wave*) sleep also contributes to memory function, and the researchers found that this accounted for a small portion of the association between exercise and improved next-day memory.

The researchers looked at data from 76 men and women who wore activity trackers for eight days and took daily cognitive tests.

Lead author Dr Michaela Bloomberg (UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare) said: 'Our findings suggest that the short-term memory effects of physical activity may last longer than previously thought. “This suggests that it may last into the next day, rather than perhaps a few hours after exercise.” Getting more sleep, especially deep sleep, appears to further enhance this memory improvement.

“Moderate or vigorous activity refers to any activity that gets your heart rate up. This might include walking briskly, dancing, or climbing a few flights of stairs. It doesn't have to be exercise.

“This was a small study, so the results need to be replicated with a larger sample of participants to be confident.”

In the short term, exercise increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine, which aid in various cognitive functions.

These neurochemical changes are understood to last up to several hours after exercise. However, the researchers noted that other brain states associated with exercise lasted longer. For example, there is evidence that exercise can boost your mood for up to 24 hours.

A previous study published in 2016 by another research team also found that synchronous activity in the hippocampus (a marker of increased hippocampal function that promotes memory function) increased 48 hours after high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cycling. It turned out that

Co-author Professor Andrew Steptoe (UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare) said: 'For older people, maintaining cognitive function is important for good quality of life, well-being and independence. It would be useful to identify factors that may have an impact.” On a daily basis.

“This study provides evidence that the immediate cognitive effects of exercise may last longer than we thought. It also suggests that good sleep separately contributes to cognitive performance. I am.”

“However, this study cannot prove whether short-term gains in cognitive performance contribute to long-term cognitive health. We also find that physical activity slows cognitive decline and reduces the risk of dementia. “There's a lot of evidence to suggest it's possible, but it's still a problem,” in one discussion. ”

In the new study, researchers looked at data from wrist-worn activity trackers to determine how much time participants spent in sedentary, light, moderate, or vigorous physical activity. They also quantified sleep duration and time spent in light (rapid eye movement or REM) sleep and deeper slow wave sleep.

In examining the association between different types of activity and next-day cognitive performance, the research team considered various factors that could have skewed the results, such as the amount of moderate or vigorous physical activity participants performed that day. has been adjusted. test.

Additionally, participants who were habitually more active and had higher quality sleep than usual performed better on cognitive tests, so participants' activity levels and sleep quality averaged over the eight days tracked. Level was also taken into account.

The research team found that moderate or vigorous physical activity, compared to a person's average, was associated with improved next-day working memory and episodic memory (memory of events). More sleep overall was associated with improvements in episodic and working memory, as well as psychomotor speed, a measure of how quickly a person detects and reacts to the environment. Increased slow-wave sleep led to improved episodic memory.

Conversely, spending more time than usual was associated with a decline in working memory the next day.

The study is among the first to assess next-day cognitive performance using a “micro-longitudinal” research design that follows participants as they go about their daily lives rather than staying in a lab. That's one.

Among the study's limitations, the researchers noted that the participants were a cognitively healthy group, meaning the results may not apply to people with neurocognitive disorders.

The study involved researchers from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare, the UCL Department of Surgery and Interventional Sciences and the University of Oxford, and was funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

*Slow-wave sleep gets its name from the characteristic brain waves that can be observed during this stage of sleep. It is a deep, restorative sleep that slows down a person's heart rate and lowers blood pressure.

– Note: This news release was originally published. university college london. This is a reissue, so it may differ from the style guide.