Dr Mikaela Bloomberg

Walking or riding a bike has been shown to improve cognitive function the day before and the day after. Those who commute by bicycle or start their day with a strenuous walk are well aware of the benefits of exercising early in the day.

Researchers now believe that physical activity may be associated with a minor improvement in memory scores the next day, in addition to being a great method to improve the day ahead. A University College London study suggests that obtaining at least six hours of sleep per night and doing 30 minutes of moderate-to-intense physical activity could improve cognitive function the following day.

The study’s first author, Dr. Mikaela Bloomberg, stated, “Simply said, exercise benefits the brain, and getting enough sleep aids with that.” The researchers pointed out that physical activity has been linked in the past to both a lower risk of dementia and short-term gains in cognitive function. Bloomberg did point out that a large number of studies examining short-term effects had been conducted in laboratories and mostly monitored responses over a period of minutes to hours. According to these studies, advantages might result from increased blood flow to the brain and the activation of substances called neurotransmitters.

Researchers now claim to have examined the short-term effects of physical activity performed in real life and have discovered benefits to the brain that seem to endure longer than anticipated. Bloomberg and colleagues describe how 76 adults between the ages of 50 and 83 who did not have dementia or cognitive impairment were asked to wear an accelerometer for eight days in order to monitor their sleep and physical activity while they went about their daily lives in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Simple online cognitive tests were also administered to participants daily to assess their processing speed, memory, and attention, among other skills.

According to the team’s findings, there was a 2-5% rise in episodic and working memory scores the next day for every 30-minute increase in moderate-to-intense physical activity the day before. However, only the latter remained once participants’ sleep data was taken into account. The next step, according to Bloomberg, is to do comparable research on individuals with cognitive impairments, even if it is challenging to determine whether this translates into a noticeable—clinical—difference for participants.

“The premise is that individuals with modest cognitive impairment can benefit greatly from even a tiny daily increase in cognitive function,” she explained.