Two studies have been published this week that demonstrate favorable effects on cognitive capacities as a result of regular exercise.
In the first study, subjects were given two different tests in an attempt to measure their creativity. Researchers found that subjects who claimed to exercise at least four times per week performed significantly better than subjects who do not exercise regularly.
The fact that this study was not controlled means that there could be a plethora of confounding factors that led to these results. It’s possible that people who are more creative are more likely to exercise frequently, or that there is another factor such as socioeconomic status that is affecting both of these variables.
Luckily, the second study implemented a controlled design to assess the effects of exercise on the brain. Half the subjects were assigned to three hours of supervised exercise per week, while the control group did not perform any exercise.
After six weeks, an MRI as performed on the subjects. Those who had been exercising showed significantly higher levels of activation in areas of the brain responsible for cognitive function and memory. Additionally, these subjects performed better on a memory test.
Conclusions
Although the first study has significant limitations, when examining it in the scope of the second study and additional research on the topic, there is considerable reason to believe that exercise can have a profound effect on cognitive ability.
What is particularly important to note is that subjects were able to dramatically improve in as little as six weeks with only three hours per week of exercise. This demonstrates how even a small amount of exercise can lead to incredible results.
References
1 Lorenza S, et al. The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2013; 7.
2 Chapman SB, et al. Shorter term aerobic exercise improves brain, cognition, and cardiovascular fitness in aging. Front. Aging Neurosci. Nov 2013.