Analyzes indicate that older adults who regularly engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity report higher brain activity even when at rest than those who do not exercise. Greater activity in the brain is associated with better cognitive performance.
Swimming, the best sport for the brain
A growing body of research suggests that the swimming could provide a unique boost to brain health. Regular swimming improves memory, cognitive function, immune response, and mood.
Swimming can also help repair stress damage and forge new neural connections in the brain. Swimming has long been recognized for its cardiovascular benefits. Swimming stimulates brain pathways that suppress inflammation in the hippocampus and inhibit apoptosis, or cell death.
Walking, stretching and lifting weights
Years ago, Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, investigated ways to stop dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). She compared the effects of aerobic exercise and resistance training in 86 women with MCI. She measured its impact on two skills that deteriorate as the condition progresses: memory and executive function, which encompass complex thought processes: reasoning, planning, problem solving and multitasking.
The researcher divided the women into three groups: in one of them, the participants had to lift weights twice a week for one hour; in the other, the members walked at such a fast pace that speaking was an effort. They also did this activity twice a week for 60 minutes. And the third group only dedicated themselves to stretching for an hour.
“After six months, both groups, those who walked and those who lifted weights, had a positive effect on spatial memory: the ability to remember what is around us and to locate ourselves in a place,” the research found.
On top of that, the women who lifted weights saw significant improvements in their executive function and performed better on tests of associative memory, which is used to associate a person’s name with their face.
For their part, the participants who walked briskly experienced improvements in their verbal ability, which is the ability to remember the word on the tip of your tongue. Stretching alone had no major effect on memory or executive function.
Surf and swing
woman-1989089_1920.jpg
Other researchers point out that challenging the sense of “proprioception,” which is our awareness of where our body parts are located, benefits the brain. This is how the exercises in which we need to think and balance are very effective for the brain.
Among the most outstanding in this matter is the surf.
Everyday activities that help the brain
On the other hand, other studies found that spending just two hours on a physical activity that we enjoyed as children, such as climbing trees or running barefoot, had powerful effects on working memory, which stores information and allows us to manipulate it.
The researchers found that when two activities are combined, the results are more positive for the brain.
Is soccer good for the brain?
Meanwhile, other analyzes have found that sports that require split-second decision-making improve cognitive function in both young and older people, helping to reduce problems associated with aging.
The research started from the basis that those activities in which the participants must constantly move and adapt quickly to the changes that occur, such as fencing, can counteract the effects related to the passing of the years, such as learning problems, memory and reaction times.
To differentiate the sports, the researchers established two categories: open and closed. “Sports considered open skills -where quick decision making, instantaneous reactions, speed precision are the premise-, would be, for example, football, basketball, volleyball, fencing, table tennis, hockey, etc”, he concludes the investigation.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
