Regular exercise proves to be memory booster

Regular home based exercise can lead to a modest improvement in thought processes, and assist with the efforts to reduce the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, according to a recent University of Melbourne study.

The university researchers carried out a controlled test to find if physical activity could reduce the cognitive decline among 138 adults aged 50 and over, who were at increased risk of dementia.

The participants, who had reported memory problems, but did not meet the clinical criteria for dementia, were allocated to either a care control group, or given 24 weeks of home based structured physical activity.

The latter active group was encouraged to perform three 50 minute sessions a week with the most common activity being walking.

The researchers found at the end of the study that the participants in the physical activity group had better cognitive and recall scores than those in the care control group, as well as lower clinical dementia rating scores.

The Melbourne researchers concluded that “unlike medication, which was found to have no significant effect on mild cognitive impairment at 36 months, physical activity has the advantage of health benefits that are not confined to cognitive function alone, as suggested by findings on depression, quality of life, falls, and disability”.

They said that although the average improvement was small, it was still “potentially important when one considers the relatively modest amount of physical activity undertaken by the participants in the study”.