The results of a study published two days ago found that High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), like cycling, push-ups, burpees, squats, and lunges, may not only delay cognitive decline in the elderly but also deliver a boost to brain function that can last for years

Emeritus Professor Perry Bartlett and Dr Daniel Blackmore from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute led the study in which volunteers did physical exercise and had brain scans

Emeritus Professor Bartlett highlighted that this is the first controlled study of its kind, demonstrating that exercise cannot only delay cognitive decline but also boost cognition in healthy older adults

“Six months of high-intensity interval training is enough to flick the switch,” Emeritus Professor Bartlett said

What did the study find?

In this study, 151 healthy 65 – 85-year-old volunteers joined a six-month exercise program, did biomarker and cognition testing and had high-resolution brain scans. They were randomly assigned to one of three exercise interventions

• Low – predominantly motor function, balance and stretching
• Medium – brisk walking on a treadmill
• High – four cycles running on a treadmill at near maximum exertion

Each participant attended 72 supervised exercise sessions for six months

Dr Blackmore said only the high-intensity interval exercise led to cognitive improvement that was retained for up to 5 years. “We followed up with them five years after the program and incredibly they still had improved cognition, even if they hadn’t kept up with the exercises”

“On high-resolution MRI scans of that group, we saw structural and connectivity changes in the hippocampus, the area responsible for learning and memory,” Dr Blackmore said

“We also found blood biomarkers that changed in correlation to improvements in cognition

“Biomarkers can be useful in predicting the effectiveness of the exercise a person is doing”

With 1 in 3 people aged 85 years likely to develop dementia, Dr Blackmore said the impact of the research was far-reaching

“Our finding can inform exercise guidelines for older people and further research could assess different types of exercise that could be incorporated into aged care,” he said

“We are now looking at the genetic factors that may regulate a person’s response to exercise to see if we can establish who will and who will not respond to this intervention

“The use of biomarkers as a diagnostic tool for exercise also needs further research”