Incorporating walking into ones exercise regimen may help prevent cognitive degeneration, according to findings published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
In an effort to better understand how certain forms of exercise may protect against memory loss, researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign enrolled 65 people aged 59 to 80 years in a one-year study. During the trial, the team had one group of individuals walk three times a week while the other group followed a stretching and toning exercise program.
Prior to and at the six- and 12-month mark of the study, the participants completed a series of cognitive-specific tasks. After recording the results of these tests, the researchers discovered that the walking group had better memory function compared to the non-walking individuals.
These findings show how walking regularly can benefit “the executive control tasks things like planning, scheduling, dealing with ambiguity, working memory and multitasking,” said Art Kramer, lead author of the study.
In addition to improving cognitive function, walking on a regular basis may improve respiratory health, as a recent study conducted by the American Thoracic Society showed that this exercise proved beneficial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 