How much should seniors exercise to improve brain function?

Published Thursday 31 May 2018

By Ana Sandoiu

Fact checked by Jasmin Collier

To boost their reasoning skills and the brain's processing speed, seniors may need to exercise for 52 hours over a period of 6 months, concludes a new study. The good news is that low-intensity exercise such as walking has the same benefits — as long as it's carried out for this length of time.

A simple aerobic exercise such as walking can improve thinking skills in seniors — as long as it's done for an extended period of time.

As more and more research keeps pointing out, exercise does wonders for our brain.

For instance, a recent study that Medical News Today reported on shows that running protects our memory from the harmful effects of stress.

Additionally, research has shown that exercise helps to prevent the aging of the brain and to keep mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — a precursor of dementia in seniors — at bay.

But exactly how much exercise do seniors need in order to fully reap these cognitive benefits? And for how long do they have to do it?

To find out, researchers led by Joyce Gomes-Osman, Ph.D. — from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida — set out to conduct a meta-analysis of existing studies.

More specifically, they examined all of the randomized controlled trials in which a group of seniors exercised for a minimum of 4 weeks and had their memory and reasoning skills compared with those of a control group at the end of the intervention.

The findings were published in the journal Neurology: Clinical Practice.