|
Running may give the brain a workout,
too. A new study finds that individuals consistently scored
higher on intellectual tests after embarking on a running
program.
These improvements, however, went down
when the joggers stopped their training, which suggests that
ongoing exercise is required to maintain the benefit.
Recent
studies have suggested that exercise benefits both brawn and
brain.
Researchers at Duke University in Durham,
North Carolina, reported earlier this year that seniors who
embarked on a 4-month exercise program showed significant
improvement in memory and other mental skills, also known
as cognitive function. Other studies have shown that regular
workouts can help fight depression, as well.
In the study researchers from Nihon Fukushi
University in Handa, Japan had seven healthy young people
initiate a jogging regimen consisting of running for 30 minutes,
two to three times a week for at least 12 weeks. Each of the
runners also took a series of complex computer-based tests,
to compare memory skills before and after the 3-month jogging
program.
After 12 weeks of jogging, scores on
all of the tests "significantly increased" in the
runners, as did their reaction
times in completing the tests. The researchers
point out that the study participants were given no time to
practice the various tests between each evaluation.
These tests showed that joggers had a
clear improvement in prefrontal function adding that scores
began to fall again if participants stopped their running
routine.
Exactly how exercise might strengthen
mental sharpness is unclear, but previous research suggests
that maintaining a healthy flow of blood and oxygen protects
the brain. The Japanese researchers note that oxygen intake
rose along with joggers' test scores.
Annual
Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego December
2001
| 