Andy’s Quick Hits (155): Brain function boosted by daily physical activity in middle-aged and older adults

There is a lot of research that shows that physical activity is good for cognitive function (and just about all other aspects of health) and one that I have reported on often. This piece adds yet more evidence to this pile of research. This study out of the University of California tracked 90 50- to 74-year old participants over 14 days using accelerometers to measure physical activity and cognitive tests performed at home.

The outcome is that on days when participants were more active their cognitive function was better, and worse on days when they were less active. The researchers noted that this was basically a linear relationship. It is also important to note that this was not an exercise intervention when participants were asked to engage in physical activity which could lead to a placebo effect, but participants went about their activities as usual. And indeed, this is interesting that this cognitive boost or drop could be seen under these conditions.

Another one to show why you should keep active particularly in older age (but other research has shown this benefits anyone of any age).

Reference:
Zvinka Z Zlatar, Laura M Campbell, Bin Tang, Spenser Gabin, Anne Heaton, Michael Higgins, Joel Swendsen, David J Moore, Raeanne C Moore.
Daily Level Association of Physical Activity and Performance on Ecological Momentary Cognitive Tests in Free-living Environments: A Mobile Health Observational Study.
JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2022; 10 (1): e33747
DOI: 10.2196/33747

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