April 21, 2025—As the population ages, researchers want to understand more about how we can maintain both our physical health and our cognitive health well into old age. Cognitive health is the ability to remember, think and learn. More than ever, research points to regular exercise as a vital way to stay sharp.
Move your body to help your mind
A recent meta-study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) looked at data from more than 2,700 studies. The studies measured the effects of exercise on brain health for more than 258,000 men, women and children of all ages.
Researchers found that:
Exercise improves cognitive health. This includes memory and executive function, which is your brain's ability to make plans and reach goals.
Children and teens received more brain-health benefits than adults did. But the benefits were significant for people in all age groups.
Low- to moderate-intensity activities helped the most. These include tai chi, yoga and video games that require movement. Such forms of exercise require focus and memory. That may explain why they were more beneficial.
People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had more brain health improvement than people without ADHD.
It's all good
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exercise also can lower your risk for dementia. And physical activity increases levels of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. These help you focus better.
Almost any type of exercise works to boost your brain health. The best kind is what you enjoy most and will do regularly. But it's also good to challenge yourself now and then. The BJSM study authors suggest that a new or difficult exercise routine may boost cognitive benefits.
CDC recommends that adults get:
- At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, or
- 75 minutes of high-intensity activity a week.
That might seem like a lot. But you can break up your exercise session into smaller amounts. Even 10-minute fitness breaks count. All those minutes can add up faster than you may think!
Sources
- British Journal of Sports Medicine. "Effectiveness of Exercise for Improving Cognition, Memory and Executive Function: A Systemic Umbrella Review and Meta-Meta-Analysis." https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/03/06/bjsports-2024-108589.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Physical Activity Boosts Brain Health." https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity/features/boost-brain-health.html.
- CHADD. "Executive Function Skills." https://chadd.org/about-adhd/executive-function-skills .
- HelpGuide.org. "The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise." https://www.helpguide.org/wellness/fitness/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise.
- National Institute on Aging. "Cognitive Health and Older Adults." https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/brain-health/cognitive-health-and-older-adults.