Walk your way to a better memory

Healthy elderly adults who do regular aerobic exercise, such as walking for 40 minutes three times a week, may help to reduce age-related memory loss, according to research published this week.

Previous studies have found that aerobic activity may prevent areas of the brain involved in learning and memory from becoming damaged, but by how much is unclear.

This new study focused on a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is important for long-term memory and spatial awareness. The researchers specifically wanted to measure what effect regular aerobic exercise has on this area of the brain. Damage to the hippocampus is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia that affects a person's ability to remember, talk to people and carry out routine daily activities.

A total of 120 adults (between the ages of 55 and 80) took part in the year-long study. No one involved had a history of dementia or any other brain diseases. Each person was randomly assigned to either a moderate intensity aerobic exercise programme (exercise group), or a stretching and toning exercise programme (control group).

The exercise group took part in a supervised walking programme. They started off walking for 10 minutes, three days a week. This was increased by five minutes each week, until they were walking a maximum of 40 minutes at a time by week seven. The control group took part in a supervised muscle-toning and stretching exercise programme. Both programmes started and finished with warm-up and cool-down stretches.

The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to see whether the size of each person’s hippocampus changed over the course of the year. An MRI scan uses magnets and radiowaves to produce images of the inside of the body. Each person had an MRI scan before they started their exercise programme, after six months and at the end of the study. Computer-based memory tests were also carried out at the start, at six months and at the end of the study.

It was found that the size of the hippocampus increased for those people in the exercise group, whereas people in the control group continued to lose brain tissue as part of the normal ageing process. The results of the memory tests found that for both groups, memory had improved. The researchers suggest that preserving the hippocampus might be related to the positive effect of aerobic exercise on maintaining memory into old age, but more research would be needed to prove a link.

  This study suggests that doing moderate intensity exercise can go some way to improve or stabilise memory functioning in healthy elderly adults. Dr Graham Stokes, Director of Dementia Care, Bupa

Commenting on the research, Dr Graham Stokes, Director of Dementia Care for Bupa, said: “This study suggests that doing moderate intensity exercise can go some way to improve or stabilise memory functioning in healthy elderly adults. However, the researchers only looked at healthy people with healthy brains. We don’t know whether aerobic exercise would have the same effect for people with a brain disease, such as those with Alzheimer’s. Therefore, we can’t say that exercise reverses dementia-related memory loss.

“Even so, doing aerobic exercise such as walking is good for older people. It helps prevent conditions such as stroke and heart disease, and it can greatly improve mood. Almost anyone can do exercise to some extent and it has no side effects, unlike some drug treatments. However, it’s important to see your GP before you start an exercise programme.”