Good news: you might not need to sweat it out at the gym every day to keep your mind sharp. A new study suggests as little as one exercise session per week could help safeguard your brain from cognitive decline.
In fact, scientists found doing as little as a weekly 30-minute workout could slash participants’ risk of mild cognitive impairment by 13 per cent.
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To find this out, the researchers analysed the exercise habits of 100,000 participants in Mexico City.
First, the scientists surveyed volunteers and split them into groups according to how frequently they worked out.
Then a decade later they ran tests on their brain health which looked at their memory, concentration and ability to follow instructions. The researchers them gave them a cognitive function score out of 30.
They discovered that one group had a surprisingly low level of mild cognitive impairment: the ‘weekend warriors’. Despite the fact these participants only exercised once or twice a week, they had similar levels of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to people who exercised at least three times a week.
According to the researchers, this is the first study to show that weekend exercise can keep your brain young in a similar way to more frequent physical activity.
“Physical activity is associated with greater brain volume, greater executive function, and greater memory,” the scientists who conducted the two-decades-long study concluded.
People who did not exercise had the highest rate of mild cognitive impairment. While it is not dementia, MCI worsens a person’s memory and thinking – it may also indicate a higher risk of dementia down the line. You are more likely to develop it as you age: in the US, experts estimate MCI affects 10 to 20 per cent of people over the age of 65.
However, researchers believe exercising at least once a week could eliminate 1 in 10 cases.
“[The findings] have important implications for policy and practice because the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people,” they said.
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