Aerobic exercise could considerably enhance the mental health and cognitive function of young adults, with the results being consistent after just one workout, new research finds. The study was published in Translational Sports Medicine.
Led by Peter Blomstrand of Jönköping University in Sweden, his new study comprised of analyzing more than a dozen studies indexed in PubMed throughout the last decade. The studies examined were based on the physical exercise and cognitive function of young adults.
From the studies chosen for evaluation, the participants were engaged in either walking, running, or bicycling. “Several different test instruments were used such as Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making Test A and B, and Stroop Color Word Test,” the co-authors indicated in their news release.
According to Blomstrand, the findings exhibited the need for physical exercise to promote cognitive health. Of the studies evaluated, just one workout of two minutes to one hour, at moderate to high-intensity, resulted in an improvement of learning and memory function.
“This systematic review shows that aerobic exercise improves the learning ability and storage in memory when exercise is performed before and in close connection with the learning activity,” the co-authors concluded in their findings.
“More studies are needed to identify optimal exercise strategies to improve learning and memory.”
The study was also authored by Jan Engvall of Linköping University.
