Apnm: "high intensity" exercise helps to improve the memory of the elderly

November 4, 2019 / bioun / -- dementia is a catastrophic disease affecting about 500000 people in Canada and is expected to rise sharply in the next decade Recently, researchers from McMaster University studied the effect of exercise on the brain, and found that high-intensity exercise can improve the memory of the elderly, which has a wide range of significance for dementia The results were published in Applied Physiology, nutrition and metabolism In the article (image source: www Pixabay Com), the researchers emphasized the importance of exercise intensity The average memory of the elderly with short-term and high-intensity exercise increased by 30%, while that of the elderly with moderate exercise did not "There is an urgent need for interventions to reduce the risk of dementia in the elderly It's only recently that we're beginning to realize the importance of lifestyle, and the lifestyle factor most likely to affect the risk of disease is physical activity, "said Jennifer heisz, associate professor and author of the article "This work will help inform the public about the significance of sports for brain health, so that they know exactly which sports can enhance memory and stay away from dementia," said Jennifer In the study, the researchers recruited dozens of people aged 60 to 88 who were not athletic and in poor health They were monitored for 12 weeks and participated three times a week Some people had high intensity interval training (HIIT) or moderate intensity continuous training (mict), while the control group only had stretching HIIT involves four sets of high-intensity exercises on a treadmill for four minutes, followed by recovery Mict included a group of approximately 50 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise In order to find clues to memory improvement related to movement, researchers used a specific test, which took advantage of the function of new neurons generated by movement These neurons are more active than mature neurons and are ideal for forming new connections and creating new memories They found that the memory of the elderly in the HIIT group was significantly higher than that in the mict group or the control group The researchers also found that increased fitness intensity was directly related to improved memory "It's never too late to get brain health through exercise, but if you start late and want to see results quickly, our research suggests that you may need to increase the intensity of exercise," said Jennifer She cautions that it's important to adjust exercise habits to current fitness levels, but it's relatively easy to increase intensity Information source: high intensity exercise improves memory in senior, original source: Ana Kovacevic, Barbara fenesi, Emily Paolucci, Jennifer J heisz The effects of aerospace exercise intensity on memory in older results Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism, 2019; doi: 10.1139/apnm-2019-0495