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Study developed by psychologists from University of Florida, in the United States, reveals that elderly people whose routine is associated with physical exercise, aerobics or weight training, have better brain health.
Published in the GeroSciece magazine, the research highlights how the benefits of regularly practicing physical activities for cognitive health provide more agility in reasoning and greater ability to adapt and change thinking.
To understand the relationship between the two factors, experts monitored and analyzed the cognitive function of 184 healthy elderly people, aged 85 to 99 years. During the experiment, these people were subjected to various cognitive tests and were also asked about their physical activity habits.
How does exercise improve cognitive health?
According to the results, elderly people who were used to doing aerobic exercises, such as swimming and cycling, or strength activities showed superior cognitive performance. The finding is valid, regardless of the intensity or duration of the exercises performed.
Among users who combined cardiovascular and strength activities, the benefits were even more visible in specific cognitive activities, such as symbol coding. These elderly people demonstrated a greater ability to understand situations and their position in relation to them.
What can we learn from the study?
It should be noted that these results are not just statistics, as they represent in a credible way how elderly people can positively affect their quality of life when entering the ‘golden age’.
The importance of frequent physical activity is highlighted, combined with other healthy eating and sleeping habits, for example, as being essential for healthy aging and disposition, maintaining mental and bodily health in excellent condition.
