Posts Tagged ‘Stroop Test’

Resistance Training Once per Week Improves Mental Functioning by 10+%

In the Next Brain Blog we track down and report on a full-range of ways to improve the function and longevity of your brain and mind.  There are many studies that prove physical exercise is good for your brain fitness and mental health.

But what type should you do,  what specifically does it improve and how long do the effects last? A new piece of research reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Resistance Training and Executive Function gives some specific answers.

They found that for older female adults resistance training (dumbbells and weight machines) one or twice a week for a year improved their abilities to plan, make decisions, focus and resolve conflicts by more that 10%.  These mental tasks all belong to what is called your executive function.

This is an impressive finding because it gives specifics on the type of exercise and the impact it will have. More to the point:

You can get a big boost in mental performance from a modest weekly investment in resistance training.

You don’t need to go to the gym or use fancy weight machines – low cost home exercise equipment will do the trick.

By the way, you can measure the efficiency of your executive function using the Stroop Test.  I will blog on that later in the month.

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