Brain endurance training boosts cognitive, physical performance in older adults

A recent study has highlighted the benefits of brain endurance training (BET) in improving both cognitive and physical performance in older adults. 

Brain Endurance Training (BET), a technique combining cognitive and physical exercise initially developed for athletes, boosts both mental and physical performance in older adults, assisting to reduce risks such as falls, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

A new study conducted by researchers at the Universities of Birmingham, UK, and Extremadura, Spain, reveals that brain endurance training (BET) can enhance attention, executive function (cognition), as well as physical endurance and resistance exercise performance. Originally developed to boost endurance in elite athletes, BET combines cognitive and physical training methods.

The findings are significant for healthy aging. Previous research has shown that mental fatigue can negatively impact both cognitive and physical performance, leading to issues like poorer balance control and an increased risk of falls and accidents. Published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise, this study is the first to explore the benefits of BET on both cognitive and physical performance in older adults.

Professor Chris Ring, the corresponding author, said: “We have shown that BET could be an effective intervention to improve cognitive and physical performance in older adults, even when fatigued. This could have significant implications for improving healthspan in this population, including reducing the risk of falls and accidents.”

In the study, 24 healthy, sedentary women aged 65-78 were assigned to one of three groups: brain endurance training (BET), exercise training, and a control group with no training. The first two groups participated in three 45-minute exercise sessions per week for eight weeks, each including 20 minutes of resistance training and 25 minutes of endurance training. While the exercise routines were identical for both groups, the BET group also completed a 20-minute cognitive task before exercising.

All three groups underwent a series of cognitive tests (reaction time and color-matching tests) and physical tests (walk, chair-stand, and arm-curl tests) to assess performance at both the beginning and end of the study. Participants in the BET group showed greater improvement in cognitive tasks, with a 7.8 per cent increase in performance after exercise, compared to a 4.5 per cent increase in the exercise-only group. Regarding physical performance, the BET group saw a 29.9 per cent improvement, while the exercise-only group had a 22.4 per cent increase.

By Naila Huseynova