Just three 15-minute walks a week in later life improve your memory – whether or not it is in decline, according to a new study.
Researchers found that the benefits were more pronounced in people aged 55 to 68, but those who were 69 to 85 also benefited.
And while younger people were not involved in the study, the researcher notes that “exercise at any age is never a bad thing”.
Other forms of aerobic exercise, such as jogging and dance have the same effect, they said.
“It seems like the session duration is not as important as how frequently you exercise. As long as you get your body moving three times a week, exercising for 15 or 50 minutes appears to have a similar effect on memory,” Sarah Aghjayan, a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh, told i.
“You just need a good pair of walking shoes, and you can get out there and move your body,” she said.
More from Science
The study looked at episodic memory – which deals with memories surrounding past events and is one of the first kind of memories to decline with age.
“I usually like to talk about the first time you got behind the wheel of a car. So you might remember where you were, how old you were, who was in the passenger seat explaining things to you, that feeling of excitement,” Ms Aghjavan said.
While the study showed clear benefits of exercise it is unclear exactly why it helps. “We still do not fully understand how exercise can benefit memory. There are likely many behavioral and cellular mechanisms at play here.
“For example, exercise improves sleep quality and mood, which are both important for memory. And exercise also affects body weight and cardiovascular health, which we know influence brain health.”
She added: “We focused on adults 55 years or older. Although we cannot speculate about the benefits of exercise on memory in younger people, exercise at any age is never a bad thing.”
The study is published in the journal Communications Medicine. It is the second piece of research this week suggesting it is never too late to embark on an exercise regime.
A study by the University of Padua in Italy, published in the journal Heart, found that that switching from a life of inactivity to one involving 20 minutes of running, cycling or other “moderate to vigorous” exercise a day, at the age of 70, reduces the risk of heart attacks, coronary heart disease and heart failure by 52 per cent in men and 8 per cent in women.
