It doesn't take 10 minutes a day! Research: Replacing watching TV dramas with "1 exercise" can help improve memory and cognitive function
If you feel that you have difficulty concentrating at work recently and your thinking is slow, you may wish to replace the time you spend watching movies and watching TV series with “7-9 minutes of simple exercise” after returning home, which may be beneficial to improving brain function. A recent study published in the authoritative journal “British Medical Journal” (BMJ) shows that developing a daily exercise habit, even for less than 10 minutes, can help improve cognitive abilities, and middle-aged and middle-aged people can also get corresponding benefits.
It takes less than 10 minutes a day to get results! Research: “1Exercise” can best improve cognitive function
The research was sponsored by University College London, UK. The research team collected health data from a total of 4,481 adults with an average age of 47 since 1970. Between 2016 and 2018, the subjects were asked to wear wearable devices and complete tests such as verbal memory and executive function. The subjects were required to wear the device for 7 consecutive days, and their physical activity, sleep, sedentary and other behaviors were collected, as well as the differences in cognitive abilities.
The results show that subjects who spend time in “moderate to high-intensity exercise” (MVPA) are positively related to the improvement of cognitive function, and verbal memory and executive functions generally become better; while static behaviors such as sitting and lying down for a long time, There is a negative correlation with the increase in cognitive function scores; and the more time subjects spend on low-intensity exercise (LIPA) and sleep, the worse their cognitive abilities will be. After further adjusting for variables, sleep duration was found to remain negatively correlated with cognitive function.
The research team further explored the impact of subjects’ exercise time allocation on cognitive function. To this end, they built a prediction model based on the average time that subjects spent on each project and found that replacing 9 minutes of sedentary behavior with moderate to high-intensity exercise had a significant tendency to improve subjects’ cognitive scores. Reducing moderate-to-high-intensity exercise begins to have a negative impact on cognitive behavior. For example, moderate-to-high-intensity training is replaced by sitting for 8 minutes, low-intensity exercise for 6 minutes, and sleep for 7 minutes.
Is sedentary behavior necessarily harmful to cognition? Expert: Only exercise can help blood flow to the brain
Study author John J. Mitchell shows that regular exercise can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and improve the oxygen supply efficiency of the circulatory and respiratory systems. The brain is one of the organs with high metabolic requirements. More susceptible than other organs to changes in blood supply. If blood flow to the brain is insufficient, cognitive function will be impaired, and problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease may occur in the elderly.
In addition, Mitchell also pointed out that exercise has been shown to help increase growth factors in the body, such as “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” (BDNF), whose main function is to promote the growth and survival of brain neurons and help improve brain plasticity. and cognitive function. “Another potential mechanism is that moderate to high-intensity exercise can promote the generation of new nerve sources in the hippocampus of the brain, which is the brain area involved in memory and learning.”
Mitchell also mentioned that in this study, the negative impact of “sedentary” behavior on cognitive function still needs to be confirmed, because the study cannot determine what the subjects’ behavior was during sedentary periods (for example, reading can help cognition, reading, etc.) Watching TV or watching dramas is not conducive to improving cognition), so the relationship between the two needs to be further clarified. In addition, adequate sleep is considered an important factor in improving cognition, and whether replacing sleep behaviors with exercise can improve brain function requires a more cautious attitude.
What is the best way to exercise at moderate intensity? Harvard recommends practicing “5 types of projects” first
As for how to define moderate intensity exercise? What kind of exercise is best for the brain? According to guidelines issued by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare, moderate-intensity exercise means that after continuous exercise for more than 10 minutes, you can still talk to others smoothly, but you cannot sing. This type of activity will make people feel a little tired, their breathing and heartbeat will be a little faster than usual, and they will sweat a little. Moderate, moderate-intensity exercise can regulate immunity and reduce stress and anxiety.
Guidelines issued by the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States point out that moderate exercise activities include brisk walking (approximately 6.4 kilometers in 1 hour), cleaning the room and carrying heavy objects (such as wiping windows, sweeping and mopping the floor), and riding a bicycle (1 hour). Cycling about 16 kilometers), playing badminton and tennis, the heart rate is about 107-127 beats/minute. It is recommended to implement the ones you are most interested in and the least difficult to do first, which can initially improve brain function.
Harvard University recommends that after adapting to moderate-intensity exercise, you can proceed to more strenuous exercise, such as mountain climbing, jogging 10 kilometers in one hour, carrying heavy objects, cycling 23 kilometers in one hour, a 3-on-3 basketball game, a In football matches or tennis singles, the heart rate is about 130-170 beats/minute. Harvard University also states that adults should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week to maintain good health.
Further reading:
