April 28, 2010 – Aerobic exercise does not provide the benefits generally attributed to it for preserving cognitive faculties, especially short-term memory. Strength training would be more beneficial in this regard. This is what the results of a meta-analysis reveal1 of 29 clinical trials conducted with more than 2,000 participants.
In light of the results, the American researchers report that aerobic exercise has only a modest beneficial effect on various aspects of the processes of cognition. In particular, they observed a slight improvement in attention span and task performance, information processing speed and memory in general. However, they did not find any beneficial effect in terms of short-term memory, which is specifically involved in cases of cognitive impairment.
In contrast, it appears that strength training exercises have a positive effect on improving attention span and short-term memory performance. Only those subjects who associated weight training with aerobic exercise showed significant clinical improvement in these respects.
In recent years, scientists have been interested in physical activity as a potential means of preserving cognitive faculties and, possibly, of contributing to the treatment of cognitive disorders. They hypothesized that improving cardiovascular capacity could help improve neurocognitive performance. It was therefore concluded that aerobic exercises (rhythmic and vigorous movements) would be ideal.
The results of this meta-analysis indicate that it may be necessary to look elsewhere. Strength training, generally performed on stationary equipment, does not provide a significant cardiovascular effect like aerobic type exercises. But its effects on attention span and short-term memory would be greater than those of aerobic exercise. The study authors report that this could also be the case for exercises that improve balance.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Smith PJ, Blumenthal JA, Hoffman BM, et al. Aerobic exercise and neurocognitive performance: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials. Psychosom Med. 2010 Apr; 72 (3): 239-52.
