Decades of exercise research data support the common view that steady workouts over the long haul produce not only physical benefits but also improved brain function. But what about single bursts of exercise? A team of scientists at UC Santa Barbara has taken a closer look.
Their study, “A systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis provide evidence for an effect of acute physical activity on cognition in young adults,” was recently published in Communications Psychology.
“One of the most consistent findings in the literature is that exercise interventions — something like a program that you would engage in, say, three times a week over several months or years — improve cognition and can even promote neurogenesis (the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain),” said Barry Giesbrecht, a professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and senior author of the study. “But studies looking at the effects of single, acute bouts of exercise are much more mixed.”…