As we grow older, having a solid memory is very important to our health, well-being, and independence. Memory loss is not considered a normal part of aging, but it is very common after middle age. In fact, statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that one in nine middle-aged people experience cognitive decline or memory loss. More than half of those who reported it said it was difficult to complete their daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and taking medicine. Fortunately, there is an easy way to improve your memory to offset the potential problem. It only takes 10 minutes a day. Read on today to find out how to improve your memory.
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Many studies have linked exercise to memory enhancement.2018 research currently published in the journal Minutes of the National Academy of Sciences He says that only 10 minutes of exercise per day can improve cognition.
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the University of Tsukuba, Japan have collaborated to assess the effects of exercise on the brain and memory. They used functional MRI to measure these benefits of 36 healthy people and determined that just 10 minutes of exercise could have a positive effect on the brain.
“We found that this brief intervention rapidly enhanced very detailed amnestics and increased activity in the hippocampus and surrounding areas,” the study authors write. After 10 minutes of exercise, they also noticed an increase in communication “between the hippocampal and cortical areas, previously known to support detailed amnestics.”
This insight can have a significant impact on the aging of the population. “The hippocampus is important for creating new memories. The hippocampus is one of the first areas of the brain that gets worse as we get older, and it is even more serious in Alzheimer’s disease.” Michael YassaA co-author of the study and a professor of UCI, Science daily.. “Improving hippocampal function has many potentials for improving memory in everyday environments.”
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The research team added that even with short seizures, “stress-free, gentle exercise” such as walking, yoga, and tai chi can have a significant impact on memory. This finding suggests that for most individuals, improvements can be achieved with minor changes to daily habits.
“For example, by monitoring your steps, it’s encouraging to see more people tracking your exercise habits,” says Yassa. “Even a short walk break all day may have a significant impact on memory and cognitive improvement,” he added.
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Many people may think that strenuous exercise is great if gentle exercise is good. However, this study found that high-intensity exercise seemed to undermine some of the cognitive benefits they observed. “Interestingly, these effects were suppressed by strenuous exercise,” the study said.
Other studies support the idea that light exercise may be better for the brain than high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and other forms of high-intensity exercise. In 2016, researchers conducted a study on rodents comparing the cognitive effects of exercise of varying intensity. They assigned different exercise routines to different groups of animals and examined their brain tissue under a microscope at the end of the exercise period.
The team found that rodents with moderate jogging on the wheel showed the highest levels of neurogenesis. This means that they have formed the newest neurons in the brain compared to animals that tend to sit down or have completed a stronger regimen. The sedentary animals did not develop the newest neurons in the hippocampal region, but the animals that completed HIIT training were not too late.
The researchers behind the original 2018 study pointed out another important reason for getting up from the couch more often. That is, the cognitive benefits of just 10 minutes of exercise are instant. Yassa states that the researchers immediately observed positive effects among the subjects. Various “memory-focused” areas of the brain have increased real-time communication.
“We haven’t downplayed the possibility of new cells being born, but it’s a process that takes some time to unfold,” Yassa said. “What we observed was that these 10 minutes of exercise showed immediate results,” he added.
Related: The study states that doing this in the morning quadruples the risk of dementia.
