Exercise Can Improve Memory in Old Age

One more reason why elderly people should adopt a regular fitness regime, American researchers have claimed that four hours of exercise every week can help them improve their memory. The researchers at University of Washington School of Medicine found that elderly people with mild memory problem who carried out a rigorous fitness regime for a longer period showed improvements in their thinking skills.

For their study, the researchers looked at a group of men and womExerciseen with mild memory problem aged around 70. They were assigned to have one hour of high intensity exercise with a trainer four days a week for six months while the others just carried out gentle stretching.

They found that the group who exercised showed improvements in their thinking skills, with a more marked difference among the women, The Telegraph reported.

In another study by a team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester in Minnesota, it was found that elderly people who had exercised since middle age by taking brisk walks, doing aerobics, yoga, strength training or swimming were 39 per cent less likely to have memory problems.

“Those who exercised into old age were almost one third less likely to have problems,” it said. However, the studies, published in the Archives of Neurology, said light exercise such as bowling, slow dancing or playing golf with a cart did not reduce the risk of memory problems.