Engaging in regular exercise is linked to plenty of health advantages, including maintaining cognitive abilities and reducing the danger of dementia.
Results of a study published online July 8, 2024 by Aging and disease suggest that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) could also be higher for mental health than other, less vigorous routines. HIIT workouts consist of repeated cycles of short intervals of high-intensity exercise followed by short “recovery” periods of low-intensity movement.
In the study, researchers enrolled 151 healthy adults ages 65 to 86 in a six-month exercise program. Participants went through a battery of tests to evaluate function within the hippocampus — a brain region related to learning and memory. Each was randomly assigned to do one in all three half-hour exercise routines: balance and stretching, brisk walking on a treadmill, or 4 HIIT cycles on a treadmill. (Each HIIT cycle consists of 4 minutes at 85% to 95% of an individual's maximum heart rate, followed by three minutes of recovery.)
Each did about half-hour of exercise three days per week for about six months, for a complete of 72 sessions. Upon retesting, only the HIIT exercisers showed positive changes in hippocampus function in comparison with their initial assessment. In a follow-up assessment five years later, the researchers found that again only those within the HIIT group maintained their improved cognitive function, although they were not doing HIIT.
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