Exercise, Mindfulness Training Found Not to Boost Cognitive Performance in Older Adults

December 14, 2022 by Dan McCue
Exercise, Mindfulness Training Found Not to Boost Cognitive Performance in Older Adults
(Pixabay photo)

ST. LOUIS — Exercise and mindfulness training under the supervision of coaches may have a wealth of benefits, but according to a new study, boosting cognitive performance isn’t one of them.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and the University of California, San Diego, studied the cognitive effects of exercise, mindfulness training or both for up to 18 months in older adults who reported age-related changes in memory but had not been diagnosed with any form of dementia.

The findings were published in the  Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the researchers, all 585 participants in their study, people aged 65 to 84, said they worried about memory problems and other age-related cognitive declines.

They were divided into groups that did exercise, mindfulness, both or neither. 

After 18 months, the researchers tested their memory and did brain scans, but found no significant difference among the groups in terms of cognitive improvement or increased brain volume.

The researchers said there are several potential causes for their  findings. 

First, all groups showed increases in cognitive performance over time, so it could be posited that all interventions (including health education) benefited participants equally and these increases reflect those benefits, and thus the study failed due to lack of a proper negative control. 

Arguing against this idea is that the health education intervention was designed for this study so that it would not specifically target cognition. 

Further, if cognitive performance increases represented true benefits, one would expect to see a reflection of those benefits in brain structures, yet both structures showed longitudinal declines with all conditions, consistent with age-related atrophy not attenuated by the interventions. In addition, the combination of MBSR and exercise showed no greater change than each intervention alone. 

Thus, the increases in cognitive performance likely reflect expectancy or practice effects from repeated exposure to the assessments.

Another potential cause of the findings was failure in target engagement, which could result from poor participant adherence, low intervention fidelity by instructors, low intensity of interventions or low reliability of outcome measures. 

Yet another possibility accounting for lack of detectable effect of interventions is that participants were generally healthy and potentially insufficiently sedentary at baseline, thereby limiting potential for benefiting from lifestyle interventions. 

The researchers are continuing the study to see if the results will change given additional time.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue

A+
a-
  • cognitive performance
  • exercise
  • mindfulness training
  • senior citizens
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Mental Health

    November 15, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Dr. Ruth Named NY’s First Ambassador to Loneliness

    ALBANY, N.Y. — Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the iconic media personality who rocketed to fame as the nation’s sex therapist in... Read More

    ALBANY, N.Y. — Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the iconic media personality who rocketed to fame as the nation’s sex therapist in the 1980s, now has a new title to add to her resume: She’s now New York’s — and by extension, the United States’ — first ambassador... Read More

    Top US Accident Investigator Says Close Calls Between Planes Show Aviation Is Under Stress

    The nation’s top accident investigator said Thursday that a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports this year... Read More

    The nation’s top accident investigator said Thursday that a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports this year is a "clear warning sign” that the aviation system is under stress. “While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of... Read More

    November 7, 2023
    by Jesse Zucker
    Exercise and Nutrition Tips for Seasonal Affective Disorder

    WASHINGTON — Welcome to November. We’re well into autumn and it’s time to “fall back” — daylight saving time has... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Welcome to November. We’re well into autumn and it’s time to “fall back” — daylight saving time has ended, there’s plenty of beauty to see and holidays to look forward to. But as the weather gets colder and the sun sets earlier, many people... Read More

    November 7, 2023
    by Tom Ramstack
    Whistleblower Says Meta Execs Knew Social Media Can Harm Kids

    WASHINGTON — A whistleblower former employee of Meta Platforms Inc. told a Senate panel Tuesday that top executives of the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A whistleblower former employee of Meta Platforms Inc. told a Senate panel Tuesday that top executives of the social media giant knew their Facebook platform harmed young people but covered it up to avoid interfering with their profits. He said he showed statistics to... Read More

    November 1, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    First Federal Campaign Launched to Tackle Health Care Workers’ Burnout

    WASHINGTON — A new federal campaign aims to provide hospital leaders with the critical, evidence-based resources they need to improve... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A new federal campaign aims to provide hospital leaders with the critical, evidence-based resources they need to improve workplace policies and reduce burnout among their staff of health care professionals. As previously reported in The Well News, physician burnout has reached a crisis stage... Read More

    October 30, 2023
    by Jesse Zucker
    Enjoy the Best Fall Foliage on These Outdoor Exercise Routes

    WASHINGTON — Attention fall enthusiasts: we’ve reached peak foliage season in Washington, D.C.! The end of October into November is... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Attention fall enthusiasts: we’ve reached peak foliage season in Washington, D.C.! The end of October into November is the best time to see the brightest orange, yellow, and red leaves on trees. They’ll hang around a little longer, but all too soon will change... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top