Over the past 30 years, research has established that Physical Activity and Cognitive Stimulation are both crucial to developing a Cognitive Reserve that can offset the decline of aging and disease. Brain Health programs of all stripes recommend that adults engage in both.
The leading edge of this research-based fitness paradigm is “Dual Task Training,” where the physical and cognitive stimulation are done together rather than sequentially. This dual tasking adds stress to the motor control system because the two tasks (marching and arithmetic, for example) must compete for shared resources in the brain. The ability to handle this stress and adequately maintain performance in both tasks is a critical brain function that tends to be diminished with aging.
The British Medical journal Lancet published a review of studies on Dual-Task Training, concluding that this decline results from changes to cognition and underlying brain function rather than due to physical changes associated with aging. But not everyone fit into this picture of decline. “For example, we observed that a portion of participants over the age of 60 years who performed the dual task test as well as participants aged 50 or even younger. This finding means that dual-task walking performance does not necessarily decline as we get older and that some individuals appear more resistant to the effects of aging.”
Marching at the board while solving problems is as important as doing your squats for Brain Health. During The Brain & Body Workout, clients are taught to exercise these underlying brain networks and improve their capacity to flex between the motor and cognitive systems. We measure this the same way researchers do, with an outcome measure called Dual Task Cost, and report it every 12 Weeks to our clients as mentioned in The Assessment section above.
We are proud to be part of this exploration of the incredible brain and how lifestyle factors under your control can make a difference, no matter your age.
