Strenuous exercise and memory loss
July 19, 2009 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Exercise, Fitness, Mental Health
I’ve always believed that strenuous exercise wasn’t good for the health. And now, with this new study, I have think I might just have the proof.
According to the study, conducted by researcher Mary C. Tierney, PhD, of the University of Toronto, long term strenuous activity such as running, swimming laps, or calisthenics may lead to memory loss.
The study looked at 90 recently menopausal women between the ages of 50 and 63. They were surveyed on their exercise regime – how frequently they did both strenuous and moderate recreational activities – from high school to menopause.
For this study, strenuous activities were defined as swimming laps, aerobics, calisthenics, running, jogging, basketball, cycling on hills, and racquetball. Moderate exercises, on the other hand, included brisk walking, golf, volleyball, cycling on level streets, recreational tennis, and softball.
Each of the participants were also given eight memory and brain function tests.
Turns out the more strenuous activity a woman did, the worse her cognitive function on all eight of the tests, with the tests of recall, memory, and attention scoring worst.
On the other hand, it seemed that those who did followed a long-term moderate exercise regime had much sharper mental skills.
Of course, this does not conclusively prove a relationship between vigorous exercise and mental decline.
But it makes you think that maybe that old saying ‘everything in moderation’ works best for exercise too.
Few days ago I came across a site focusing on human memory and physical exercise. I have found that normal and regular physical exercise can help to maintain a healthy brain. How far is this true?
Well this is extremely sad to hear, as I have been a competitive runner and triathlete for almost 15 years now, and have no plans to stop any time soon. While this study may lead to this conclusion, there is another study that says doing cognitive activities like daily crosswords or quick 60 second brain challenges is a way to help keep the mind active and the memory stronger.