Aerobic exercises enhance cognitive ability in young and middle-aged adults, claims study

Daily exercise

A new study conducted by a team of researchers at the Columbia University in US has found that aerobic exercises will elevate the cognitive ability in young and middle-aged adults.

As per the research team, engaging in various kinds of aerobic exercises will diminish or slow the appearance of at least some age-related cognitive changes.

During the study, researchers analyzed the cognitive capabilities of 132 people between the age of 20 and 67. After analyzing the cognitive pattern of these participants for 24 weeks, researchers found that increased aerobic activities drastically improved the brain function of people.

After 24 weeks of research, the team of experts noted that participants who engaged in aerobic exercises showed considerable improvements in executive function - the cognitive processes important for reasoning, planning and problem-solving.

It should be noted that aerobic exercises induced changes in the frontal lobe of the brain, an area that is associated with the executive function of the human body.

"People think of mental decline as something that occurs later in life. But even at age 30, you need some help. Many studies show an almost linear decline in these functions from the 20s onward. So the take-home message from this study is that aerobic exercise is really very important," said Yaakov Stern, a professor of neuropsychology at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and the lead author of the study, quoted by Reuters.

A few days ago, another study conducted by researchers at the Leipzig University in Germany has found that endurance training like swimming, running and cycling has positive anti-ageing benefits. The research report also added that resistant training does not have considerable anti-ageing benefits.

This article was first published on February 1, 2019
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