• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tracking Health and Wellness Applications of Brain Science

Spanish
sb-logo-with-brain
  • Resources
    • Monthly eNewsletter
    • Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle
    • The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness
    • How to evaluate brain training claims
    • Resources at a Glance
  • Brain Teasers
    • Top 25 Brain Teasers & Games for Teens and Adults
    • Brain Teasers for each Cognitive Ability
    • More Mind Teasers & Games for Adults of any Age
  • Virtual Summits
    • 2019 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • Speaker Roster
    • Brainnovations Pitch Contest
    • 2017 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2016 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2015 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2014 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
  • Report: Pervasive Neurotechnology
  • Report: Digital Brain Health
  • About
    • Mission & Team
    • Endorsements
    • Public Speaking
    • In the News
    • Contact Us

“No matter what the media says…you need both physical and mental exercise”

January 20, 2014 by SharpBrains

Liz ZelinskiQues­tion by Anton Goldberg:
What sur­prised me the most in your inter­view was when you said that phys­i­cal exer­cise does­n’t help improve mem­o­ry as much as men­tal exer­cise does. I get the oppo­site impres­sion when read­ing media reports. Can you point out the research that sup­ports your view? And, if true, why isn’t the media doing a bet­ter job at explain­ing the science?

Answer by Dr. Eliz­a­beth Zelinski:
The research at the time showed that exer­cise improved super­vi­so­ry func­tions like work­ing mem­o­ry and exec­u­tive func­tion and pro­cess­ing speed. These are dif­fer­ent from, say, remem­ber­ing a list of words. It’s what was miss­ing from the pub­lished work. I had noticed it because the ear­ly exer­cise research in the 1970s and 80s gen­er­al­ly failed to improve mem­o­ry. There is some recent evi­dence that spa­tial mem­o­ry is improved with aer­o­bic exer­cise, but it’s only from one lab. I pub­lished a meta-analy­sis in 2012 com­par­ing gains in untrained task per­for­mance after tak­ing out the effect of prac­tice in doing sim­i­lar tasks at pretest and posttest, for both aer­o­bic exer­cise and cog­ni­tive train­ing inter­ven­tions. About 4000 peo­ple in 42 stud­ies were sum­ma­rized. Untrained task improve­ment was sim­i­lar for both types of inter­ven­tions, so phys­i­cal exer­cise isn’t bet­ter, no mat­ter what the media says. As the Sharp­Brains Guide says, though, you need both for health.

> Keep read­ing  Q&A tran­script with Prof. Liz Zelin­s­ki on Cog­ni­tive enhance­ment for healthy aging

> Send your brain and brain health ques­tions to oth­er rec­og­nized experts

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pock­et

Filed Under: Brain/ Mental Health Tagged With: Cognitive-Training, mental-exercise, Physical-Exercise

Primary Sidebar

Top Articles on Brain Health and Neuroplasticity

  1. Can you grow your hippocampus? Yes. Here’s how, and why it matters
  2. How learning changes your brain
  3. To harness neuroplasticity, start with enthusiasm
  4. Three ways to protect your mental health during –and after– COVID-19
  5. Why you turn down the radio when you're lost
  6. Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle Is the Key to Self-Empowered Aging
  7. Ten neu­rotech­nolo­gies about to trans­form brain enhance­ment & health
  8. Five reasons the future of brain enhancement is digital, pervasive and (hopefully) bright
  9. What Educators and Parents Should Know About Neuroplasticity and Dance
  10. The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains
  11. Six tips to build resilience and prevent brain-damaging stress
  12. Can brain training work? Yes, if it meets these 5 conditions
  13. What are cognitive abilities and how to boost them?
  14. Eight Tips To Remember What You Read
  15. Twenty Must-Know Facts to Harness Neuroplasticity and Improve Brain Health

Top 10 Brain Teasers and Illusions

  1. You think you know the colors? Try the Stroop Test
  2. Check out this brief attention experiment
  3. Test your stress level
  4. Guess: Are there more brain connections or leaves in the Amazon?
  5. Quick brain teasers to flex two key men­tal mus­cles
  6. Count the Fs in this sentence
  7. Can you iden­tify Apple’s logo?
  8. Ten classic optical illu­sions to trick your mind
  9. What do you see?
  10. Fun Mental Rotation challenge
  • Check our Top 25 Brain Teasers, Games and Illusions

Join 12,513 readers exploring, at no cost, the latest in neuroplasticity and brain health.

By subscribing you agree to receive our free, monthly eNewsletter. We don't rent or sell emails collected, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

IMPORTANT: Please check your inbox or spam folder in a couple minutes and confirm your subscription.

Get In Touch!

Contact Us

660 4th Street, Suite 205,
San Francisco, CA 94107 USA

About Us

SharpBrains is an independent market research firm tracking health and performance applications of brain science. We prepare general and tailored market reports, publish consumer guides, produce an annual global and virtual conference, and provide strategic advisory services.

© 2023 SharpBrains. All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy