Wednesday 26th September, 2018
In a paper published
on Monday, researchers from the University of California, Irvine in the United
States and the University of Tsukuba in Japan introduced their experiment and
conclusion.
Scientists invited 36
volunteers who were in their early 20s to do 10
(Xinhua) – Regular exercise will not only benefit your body, but also improve
your memory, researchers have found.
In a paper published
on Monday, researchers from the University of California, Irvine in the United
States and the University of Tsukuba in Japan introduced their experiment and
conclusion.
Scientists invited 36
volunteers who were in their early 20s to do 10 minutes of light exercise
before taking a memory test in which they were shown pictures like broccoli or
picnic baskets and asked to recall them later.
The same experiment
was repeated with the same group of volunteers without exercising.
“The memory task
really was quite challenging,” said Michael Yassa, co-author of the study
and a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine.
“We used very
tricky similar items to see if they would remember whether it was this exact
picnic basket versus that picnic basket.”
Researchers also
scanned brains of some of the participants during the experiment.
They found enhanced
communication between regions involved in the storage and recollection of
memories in brains of those who had exercised.
This suggested that
just 10 minutes of light exercise like walking, yoga or Tai Chi might boost
memory power.
As all the volunteers
in the experiment were relatively young, researchers are still working to look
at the effects of light exercise on older people.
“Our main goal is
to try to develop an exercise prescription that can be used by older adults who
might have disabilities or mobility impairments, but can still adopt a very
simple exercise regimen and be able to, perhaps, stave off cognitive
decline,” said Yassa.
GNA