Exercise Boosts Memory

We all know that exercise is good for our bodies -- there's a mountain of research that indicates exercise helps prolong our lives, increase our sense of well being, reduce the effects of many ailments, you can learn more here, and even lessen our chances of contracting a life-threatening condition like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer.

Now there’s evidence that exercise can help with brain function also, specifically in the area of memory.

A recent study by chiropractors in the Netherlands found that when subjects did 35 minutes of interval training on an exercise bike they performed significantly better on memory tests than people who did not exercise.

 

 

The memory test was 40 minutes long, and it involved remembering pictures. Interestingly, the researchers found that when subjects exercised immediately after the first part of the test, they did not do any better at remembering the pictures than people who didn’t exercise at all. The real boost in memory performance was when subjects exercised four hours after they did the first part of the memory exercise. When they came back later for memory testing, their results were significantly better than the other groups in the study.

 

 

The chiropractor in this research study are not sure why this group did so much better, and they plan to do more studies. The bottom line, however, is that recent scientific research has definitely shown a link between exercise and memory, in particular that exercise enhances output of brain chemicals known as catecholamines, which are essential to memory and learning.

So, if you want to improve your memory, get out there and ride your bike!