Feeling a Bit Foggy Lately? Use Exercise and Dual-Tasking to Build a Better Brain: Part 1
By Karin Meessen
We've all been isolated from family and friends during the pandemic. If you find yourself having a harder time remembering things or processing information since the pandemic began, it could be a direct result of that isolation.
Dr. Joel Salinas, a behavioral neurologist and faculty member of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies says, "It's something I'm seeing clinically. Some people were okay before the pandemic and now they're having faster cognitive decline."
He also points out there is not yet a lot of evidence to back up a clear correlation between pandemic lockdowns and a change in memory or thinking skills. One small 2020 study found that 60% of people with mild cognitive impairment did experience worsening cognition during the lockdown.
Pandemic related or not, our brains undergo changes as we age. But cognitive exercise plus physical exercise— aka dual-tasking— may well slow or even reverse the negative effects of this process.
The Aging Brain
Cognitive aging is a multifactorial process. Just like blood pressure, for example, it is fluid, not fixed.
We already mentioned isolation and reduced social interaction playing a role in brain health. A sedentary lifestyle, stress, lack of nutrition and lack of sleep affect our brains negatively as well.
As we age, these factors play an even larger role. There are regions of the brain that are related to memory shrink. There are fewer neurons, changes in cortical thickness, and decreased vascularity. It’s been shown that by age 80, the brain is 5% lighter than in middle adulthood.
We experience changes in all four cognitive domains, which are:
Executive function, controlling and coordinating cognitive abilities
Attention, filtering, selecting and managing stimuli and information
Memory, encoding, retrieving and manipulating information
Processing Speed, the ability to process information rapidly
These changes have a wide-ranging impact on our daily lives, including their effect on our ability to multi-task. We all dual-task and multi-task our way through everyday life, but this tends to deteriorate with age. A reduced ability to simultaneously divide attention between tasks has been linked to reduced reaction time and walking speed, more frequent run-ins with obstacles, and an increased fall risk.
Exercise and Brain Health
While cognitive exercise and physical exercise each have unique benefits on the body and brain, several benefits are also shared between the two. The primary ones are:
Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain
Synaptogenesis, the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels in the brain
There is a good amount of research as well as numerous articles which suggest that engaging in regular exercise promotes overall brain health. Here is an interesting article on the hormone irisin released during exercise, and another study which found that simultaneous exercise and cognitive training in virtual reality elicits positive changes in brain volume, vascular resistance, memory, and executive function.
Dual-Tasking
Further studies have been looking into engaging in physical and cognitive exercises simultaneously, so-called dual-tasking, and results seem to indicate that a physical task coupled with a cognitive one has a profound impact on improving and preventing cognitive decline in older individuals.
A classic dual-task exercise would be walking (physical task) while reciting the alphabet (cognitive task). If that’s too easy, the pace can be increased and the alphabet can be recited backwards, thus increasing both the physical and the cognitive load. Performing both tasks concurrently requires attention, cognitive effort, and use of executive functions.
One study examined the effects of cognitive-motor dual-task training on executive functions in a sedentary older adult population over 12 weeks. This combined training was more beneficial than single task training in improving cognitive functions.[1]
In another study participants engaged in a combination of a dual-task training program as well as mixed aerobic and resistance training. While this particular study did not find synergistic effects of the two interventions, they did find that the dual task training program led to transfer effects in terms of executive performance on neuropsychological tests. It was present in neither the exercise-only nor in cognitive challenge-only group.[2]
It is safe to establish that exercise has a positive effect on brain health, which leads us to the following questions: How much and what type of exercise should we be doing to optimize these cognitive benefits? Stay tuned for part two of this blog to learn how to incorporate dual-tasking into your fitness routine.
Looking to get started? We invite you to sign up for a complimentary fitness assessment with Pongo Power.
This virtual 55-minute appointment is with a personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
When you sign up and mention BRAIN HEALTH, you will also receive a free training session.
At Pongo Power, we are committed to providing all people with the tools and knowledge they need to lead a healthy life. No obligation to buy and you can ask as many questions as you'd like.
IMPORTANT: If you are concerned about your cognitive abilities, it is important to talk to your healthcare provider. Many recommend a baseline assessment.
Sources: [1] Yokoyama, H., Okazaki, K., Imai, D., Yamashina, Y., Takeda, R., Naghavi, N., ... Miyagawa, T. (2015). The effect of cognitive-motor dual-task training on cognitive function and plasma amyloid β peptide 42/40 ratio in healthy elderly persons: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Geriatrics, 15, 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s12877-015-0058-4
[2] Desjardins-Crépeau, L., Berryman, N., Fraser, S. A., Vu, T. T. M., Kergoat, M.-J., Li, K. Z., ... Bherer, L. (2016). Effects of combined physical and cognitive training on fitness and neuropsychological outcomes in healthy older adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 11, 1287–1299. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S115711
