Attention students because what is going to be told in this article interests you!
A short burst of moderate exercise improves memory consolidation in healthy older adults and in those with mild cognitive impairment. These have been the conclusions of a study carried out by scientists at the University of California at Irvine (UCI).
Research has focused on the benefits of a long-term exercise program on general health and cognitive function. However, the UCI work is the first to examine the immediate effects of exercise on memory.
The study consisted of taking people between 50 and 85 years old, with and without memory deficits. They showed them photos of nature and animals. Later They were put on a stationary bike for 6 minutes and pedaled at 70% of their maximum capacity.
An hour later, the participants were given a pop quiz to see if they remembered the images they had previously been shown. The results showed a remarkable improvement in the memory of the images seen. after having done that brief period of moderate physical exertion, both in healthy adults and in those with cognitive problems. The group that had not ridden a bicycle fared worse.
Researchers are now focused on better understanding the mechanism by which exercise improves memory, that is, what are the possible underlying biological factors.
Researchers believe that memory improvement may be related to norepinephrine release after exercising. Norepinephrine is a chemical messenger that is known to play a very important role in memory modulation.
The researchers found that levels of salivary alpha-amylase, a biomarker that reflects the activity of norepinephrine in the brain, increased significantly in the participants after exercise. This correlation was especially strong in people with memory disorders.
The new results offer a natural and relatively safe alternative to pharmacological interventions to improve memory. With a growing aging population, the need to improve the quality of life and prevent mental decline is more important than ever.