New Study Reveals HIIT as a Key to Long-Term Cognitive Health in Older Adults

Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, is a major health issue, with over 130 million people worldwide expected to be affected by 2050. If we can delay the onset of dementia by just five years, we could see a 41% decrease in the number of cases by then. These statistics highlight the importance of finding ways to delay, slow down, or even reverse age-related cognitive decline. One promising approach is focusing on lifestyle factors that we can change, such as increasing physical activity.

Researchers from the University of Queensland conducted a randomized control study to investigate the effect of exercise in healthy older individuals. Their primary objective was to measure changes in cognitive function following exercise.

Methodology

A 6-month exercise study with a 5-year follow-up involved participants aged 65-85 who were divided into three groups: a low-intensity group (LIT), a moderate-intensity group (MIT), and a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) group. The low-intensity group exercised at 45-55% of their peak heart rate, the moderate-intensity group at 60-75%, and the HIIT group at 85-95%. Each participant exercised for 36-45 minutes, three times a week, totaling 72 sessions over six months. All sessions were supervised by qualified exercise physiologists to ensure participants reached and maintained their target heart rates.

Results

Conclusion

These findings show that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) greatly enhances and maintains hippocampus-dependent cognitive health in older adults. The improvements lasted for at least 5 years, suggesting that the changes in hippocampal size and connectivity are responsible for this long-term benefit. This sustained boost in hippocampal function shows that exercise programs like HIIT can offer significant protection against cognitive decline in older adults.

Takeaways

Is walking enough?

Walking makes it challenging to raise your heart rate into zones 4 and 5, which represent 84 to 100% of your peak HR unless you're walking uphill. For example, I walked briskly this morning and only raised my heart rate to medium intensity.

Does this mean we all need to do HIIT?

Perhaps not. Although this study does not address this, simply reaching zones 4 or 5, or 85-95% of your peak HR, several times per week may be enough to maintain and even improve cognitive functioning with age and prevent age-related decline in brain volume.

References:

Blackmore, D. G., Schaumberg, M. A., Ziaei, M., Belford, S., To, X. V., O’Keeffe, I., Bernard, A., Mitchell, J., Hume, E., Rose, G. L., Shaw, T., York, A., Barth, M., Cooper, E. J., Skinner, T. L., Nasrallah, F., Riek, S., & Bartlett, P. F. (n.d.). Long-Term Improvement in Hippocampal-Dependent Learning Ability in Healthy, Aged Individuals Following High Intensity Interval Training. Aging and Disease. https://doi.org/10.14336/ad.2024.0642

Jardim NYV, Bento-Torres NVO, Tomás AM, da Costa VO, Bento-Torres J, Picanço-Diniz CW. Unexpected cognitive similarities between older adults and young people: Scores variability and cognitive performances. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2024 Feb;117:105206. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2023.105206. Epub 2023 Sep 18. PMID: 37742393.

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