💾 Archived View for gmi.noulin.net › mobileNews › 6093.gmi captured on 2023-12-28 at 18:19:00. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

View Raw

More Information

⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)

➡️ Next capture (2024-05-10)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Exercising After a Task Improves Memory

2016-06-28 15:26:16

Here's another reason to hit the gym

Working out might keep the brain sharp, and according to a new study,

exercising four hours after learning a task can improve memory.

In the new report, published Thursday in the journal Current Biology,

researchers found that exercising four hours after a memory task increased

brain patterns associated with memory, and helped people retain information

better than people who exercised immediately after or people who did not work

out.

Seventy two people partook in a picture-location memory task for about 40

minutes. Then, the people were either randomly assigned to 35 minutes of

exercise right away, exercise four hours later, or no exercise at all. Two days

later, the people came back to see how well they remembered what they had

learned, and their brains were scanned. The people who exercised hours later

had better recall and stronger and more clear activation in the areas of their

brain associated with memory retrieval.

There is good evidence from animal data that the release of certain

neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine leads to a biochemical cascade

leading to the production of so called plasticity related proteins, says study

author Guill n Fern ndez, director of the Donders Institute for Brain,

Cognition, and Behaviour at Radboud University Medical Center in an email to

TIME. These proteins help stabilize new memory traces, which would otherwise

be lost. Physical exercise is at the start of this sequence, because it is

accompanied by the release of dopamine and norepinephrine.

The idea that regular exercise has an impact on brain health, including memory,

has been reported in many studies and Fern ndez says the new report adds to the

evidence by showing a single session of exercise can aid in memory retention.

The number of people in the study is small, so it s hard to say whether people

should start pacing workouts exactly four hours after learning something

important. Still, the study authors argue that their study is a proof of

principal that exercise should be considered as a strategy for long-term

memory.