A new link has been reported between regular exercise and improved cognitive function later in life.
Exercising just once a month makes a difference compared with inactivity, according to a new study.
Dr Sarah-Naomi James of University College London, UK, and colleagues say in today’s *Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry* that it is yet to be established how the timing, frequency or maintenance of physical activity across the life course affects later-life cognition.
They examined the links in a study of 1,417 men and women from the ‘1946 British birth cohort’. At five time points between ages 36 and 69 participants reported their leisure time physical activity.
Tests of cognitive state, verbal memory, and processing speed were completed at age 69.
Those who were physically active at each assessment point had higher cognition scores.
The researchers report that the biggest difference was linked to undertaking exercise at least once to four times a month.
They report: "These relationships were partly explained by childhood cognition and education, but independent of cardiovascular and mental health and APOE-E4 (a gene linked to dementia), suggestive of the importance of education on the lifelong impacts of physical activity."
They call for guidelines recommending participation in any physical activity across adulthood.
Dr James commented: “People who have never been active before, and then start to be active in their 60s, also appear to have better cognitive function than those who were never active.
“The greatest cognitive effect was seen for those who stayed physically active throughout their life. The effect is accumulative, so the longer an individual is active, the more likely they are to have higher later-life cognitive function.”
“Our study suggests that engaging in any leisure-time physical activity, at any point in adult life, has a positive effect on cognition. This seems to be the case even at light levels of activity, between once to four times a month. What’s more, people who have never been active before, and then start to be active in their 60s, also appear to have better cognitive function than those who were never active.”
James, S-N. et al. The effects of timing of physical activity across adulthood on later-life cognition: 30 years follow-up in 1946 British Birth Cohort. *Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry* 21 February 2023
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