Athletes Have Better Working Memory
Large review study shows that athletes have fitter brains.
Better sports performance is consistently linked with superior working memory performance, according to findings published in Memory. Researchers from University of Jyvaskyla, in Jyväskylä, Finland, conducted a meta-analysis of 21 studies with 1,455 participants. The review provides more evidence of the relationship between sports participation and improved attention, perception and decision-making among athletes. Working memory improvements are noted across all types of sports and performance levels. The impact of sports activities on developing working memory skills are most pronounced when athletes are compared with those who are sedentary.
Researchers recommend long-term studies to look at the relationship between sports activity and cognition over time. Study authors had previously reported that a physically active lifestyle can lessen the negative effects of aging on brain function.
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
