As you age, you may have to choose between brain and brawn
High-intensity training has greater physical benefits for older people, but lower-intensity exercise is better for cognitive functioning, a new Stellenbosch University study suggests
Less is sometimes more. Researchers at Stellenbosch University have found that lower intensity exercise has greater benefits for older people’s brains than high-intensity training. A study by the university’s sport science department‚ which put 55- to 75-year-olds through three exercise regimes‚ found that those in the high-intensity programme enjoyed the greatest physical benefits‚ but those in the other programme fared better in cognitive functioning. The researchers said the greatest benefit from the 16-week programme was in "executive" cognitive tasks‚ involving planning‚ scheduling‚ working memory‚ interference control (the ability to filter out distracting information) and task control and coordination.
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