Just one session of exercise can keep your brain supercharged till the next day – Times of India

A lot is being said about physical activity these days. The impact of physical inactivity has hit the population so terribly that health agencies have been urging people to include at least 150 minutes of exercise in their weekly routine. The effect of exercise is beyond physical benefits, it boosts cognitive health too.
A new study by researchers from the University College London has said that only one session of exercise can give memory benefits for more than 24 hours.
“Our findings suggest that the short-term memory benefits of physical activity may last longer than previously thought, possibly to the next day instead of just the few hours after exercise. Getting more sleep, particularly deep sleep, seems to add to this memory improvement,” Lead author Dr Mikaela Bloomberg (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) has said.

What kind of exercises should we aim at doing?

“Moderate or vigorous activity means anything that gets your heart rate up – this could be brisk walking, dancing or walking up a few flights of stairs. It doesn’t have to be structured exercise,” the researcher has said.
For this study, the researchers examined 76 people aged 50 to 83 with moderate to vigorous physical activity than usual on a given day. They observed that these individuals did better in memory tests the day after. They found that less sitting hours and more hours of deep sleep contributed to this. The participants wore activity trackers for eight days and took cognitive tests each day.
“The study is among the first to evaluate next-day cognitive performance using a “micro-longitudinal” study design where participants were tracked going about their normal lives rather than having to stay in a lab,” the University has said.

The findings of the study have been published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.