Any Level of Physical Activity Tied to Better Later-Life Memory

Eve Bender

March 01, 2023

Any amount of exercise in middle age is associated with better cognition in later life, new research suggests.

A prospective study of 1400 participants showed that those who exercised to any extent in adulthood had significantly better cognitive scores later in life compared with their peers who were physically inactive.

Maintaining an exercise routine throughout adulthood showed the strongest link to subsequent mental acuity.

Although these associations lessened when investigators controlled for childhood cognitive ability, socioeconomic background, and education, they remained statistically significant.

"Our findings support recommendations for greater participation in physical activity across adulthood," lead investigator Sarah-Naomi James, PhD, research fellow at the Medical Research Council Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at the University College London, United Kingdom, told Medscape Medical News.

"We provide evidence to encourage inactive adults to be active even to a small extent...at any point during adulthood," which can improve cognition and memory later in life, James said.

The findings were published online February 21 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Exercise Timing

Previous studies have established a link between fitness training and cognitive benefit later in life, but the researchers wanted to explore whether the timing or type of exercise influenced cognitive outcomes in later life.

The investigators asked more than 1400 participants in the 1946 British birth cohort how much they had exercised at ages 36, 43, 60, and 69 years.

The questions changed slightly for each assessment period, but in general, participants were asked whether in the past month they had exercised or participated in such activities as badminton, swimming, fitness exercises, yoga, dancing, football, mountain climbing, jogging, or brisk walks for 30 minutes or more; and if so, how many times they participated per month.

Prior research showed that when the participants were aged 60 years, the most commonly reported activities were walking (71%), swimming (33%), floor exercises (24%), and cycling (15%).

When they turned 69, researchers tested participants' cognitive performance using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination–III, which measures attention and orientation, verbal fluency, memory, language, and visuospatial function. In this study sample, 53% were women, and all were White.

Physical activity levels were classified as inactive, moderately active (one to four times per month), and most active (five or more times per month). In addition, they were summed across all five assessments to create a total score ranging from 0 (inactive at all ages) to 5 (active at all ages).