Many of us are familiar with the soreness in our limbs that often follows intense physical activity.
However, researchers have found that the advantages for the brain can also be experienced after 24 hours.
University College
London
Researchers from UCL discovered that the temporary cognitive enhancement our brain experiences after exercising lasts for the entire subsequent day.
Individuals who engaged in higher levels of moderate to intense exercise compared to their regular routine performed better on memory assessments the following day.
Specialists mentioned that these enhancements might be accomplished through a straightforward activity like sprinting up the staircase.
In the short term, exercise increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine which help a range of cognitive functions.
These neurochemical alterations are known to persist for several hours following physical activity.
Other research has indicated that the brain states associated with physical activity persist for an extended period, with findings pointing out that exercise can improve one’s mood for as long as 24 hours.
Participants, aged 50 to 83, wore activity trackers for eight days and took cognitive tests each day.
Scientists analysed how long they spent being sedentary, doing light physical activity, and doing moderate or vigorous physical activity.
They also quantified sleep duration and time spent in lighter (rapid eye movement, or REM) sleep and deeper, slow-wave sleep.
After factoring in average levels of activity and sleep, they found that more moderate or vigorous physical activity compared to a person’s average was linked to better working memory and episodic memory (memory of events) the next day.
These benefits were also felt by people who spent less time spent sitting and had six hours or more of sleep.
Increased total sleep duration was associated with better performance in episodic and working memory tasks as well as enhanced psychomotor speed, which assesses how swiftly an individual perceives and reacts to their surroundings.
According to the research published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, individuals who experienced more slow-wave—deep, recuperative sleep—showed improved episodic memory.
On the contrary, spending more time being inactive than normal was associated with a decline in working memory the following day.
Dr. Mikaela Bloomberg from UCL commented, “Our research indicates that the positive impact of physical activity on short-term memory might extend over a longer period than we initially believed—potentially up until the following day rather than only for several hours post-exercise. Additionally, increased quality sleep, specifically deep sleep stages, appears to enhance this memory boost.”
‘Moderate or intense physical activity includes anything that elevates your heartbeat – examples include fast-paced walking, dancing, or climbing several flights of stairs. This does not necessarily require organized workouts.’
‘This was a limited study, so it must be repeated with a bigger participant group to ensure the reliability of the findings.’
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