A new study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (USA) suggests that doing some type of physical exercise for around 20 minutes a day can improve long-term memory . The findings have been published in the journal Acta Psychologica .
For the study, the scientists had the participation of 46 people , 29 women and 17 men who were randomly distributed into two groups classified as “active” and “passive.” In the first part of the experiment , all the volunteers viewed a series of 90 images on a computer screen that had been classified into three categories: positive, neutral, or negative. The participants’ task was to remember as many images as they could.
After this test, the two groups performed different exercises in a gym . The “active” group had to extend and contract each leg a total of 50 times on a machine suitable for this exercise, with as much weight as they could. The “passive” group only had to sit on the machine and move their legs without any weight. During all exercises, blood and heart pressure were monitored.
Two days later the participants took the image test again , but this time mixing the 90 original photos with 90 new ones that they had not seen at any time. Again, they asked the volunteers – after viewing the photos – to remember as many images as possible. The difference between the active and passive group was palpable. The group that had performed weighted leg extension exercise remembered 60% of the images, compared to the passive group that only remembered 50% of them .
“Our study indicates that people don’t have to spend large amounts of time giving their brain a boost,” says Lisa Weinberg, study leader.
“Even without doing expensive functional MRI scans, our results give us insight into which areas of the brain might be supporting these exercise-induced memory benefits . The results are encouraging as they are consistent with the rodent literature that identifies exactly the parts of the brain that play an important role in the stress-induced memory benefits of exercise, ”explains Audrey Duarte, co-author of the study.
