
Want to give your brain a boost for tomorrow? Get in a little pulse-pounding exercise today, a new study shows. In a finding that suggests the benefits of exercise may linger longer than believed, researchers discovered that middle-aged adults and seniors perform better on memory tests even a full day after they’ve had some moderate to vigorous physical activity. “Moderate or vigorous activity means anything that gets your heart rate up — this could be brisk walking, dancing or walking up a few flights of stairs. It doesn’t have to be structured exercise,” said lead researcher Mikaela Bloomberg, a senior research fellow in social epidemiology with the University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care. “Our findings suggest that the short-term memory benefits of physical activity may last longer than previously thought, possibly to the next day instead of just the few hours after exercise,” Bloomberg said in a UCL news release. People ages 50 to 84 also did better on memory tests if they spent less time sitting the day before or got six or more hours of sleep. Exercise is known to provide a short-term brain boost by increasing blood flow to the brain, and by stimulating the release of neurochemicals that support many different cognitive functions, researchers explained in background notes. These brain chemical changes are known to last at least… read on > read on >