HEADING INTO THE New Year, there are many reasons to get fit, but you probably didn’t think your memory was one.
Now a new study has found that older adults who take more steps either by walking or jogging perform better on memory tasks than those who are more sedentary.
The study examines the relationship between physical activity, memory and cognition in young and old adults. It appears online in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.
The study included 29 young adults and 31 older adults who wore a small device called an ActiGraph, which recorded information including how many steps each took, how vigorous the steps were and how much time it involved.
Participants also completed neuropsychological testing to assess their memory, planning and problem-solving abilities. In addition to standardised neuropsychological tasks of executive function (planning and organisation abilities) and long-term memory, participants engaged in a laboratory task in which they had to learn face-name associations.
The researchers found that older adults who took more steps per day had better memory performance.
The association between the number of steps taken was strongest with a task that required recalling which name went with a person’s face – the same type of everyday task that older adults often have difficulty with.
The researchers say that the study shows that physical activity in later life can add to memory performance.
“Our findings that physical activity is positively associated with memory is appealing for a variety of reasons. Everyone knows that physical activity is a critical component to ward off obesity and cardiovascular-related disease.
“Knowing that a lack of physical activity may negatively impact one’s memory abilities will be an additional piece of information to motivate folks to stay more active,” explained corresponding author Scott Hayes PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.
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