Memory

Experts have long known that fitness is good for the brain. A recent paper connects different types of workouts with assorted improvements in memory.

Spatial memory is the ability to remember physical relationships between objects or locations in space, like where you put your keys. Think of episodic memory as “mental time travel,” Dr. Now, a recent study from Dartmouth focuses on how the intensity of exercise, over a period of time, may play an important role in bolstering different types of recall. This is complicated by the fact that many other factors affect memory, like working a sedentary office job or chronic sleep deprivation. Furthermore, there are different types of memory — which explains how a person might constantly lose their keys (poor spatial memory) but have a knack for remembering birth dates (strong semantic memory). According to Phillip Tomporowski, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Georgia who was not involved in the study, this paper is a “really good first guess” at how certain patterns of exercise affect certain types of memory. “We believe intensity is one of those factors.” [such as diabetes](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/well/move/walking-after-eating-blood-sugar.html) and [heart disease](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/well/move/exercise-heart-health.html), and in some cases can [improve mental health](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/well/mind/exercise-may-help-to-fend-off-depression.html). “The more that we can connect everyday patterns of activity to cognitive performance, the closer we are getting to thinking about lifestyle,” which includes how active you are during the entire day and sleep patterns, said Michelle Voss, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Iowa, who was not involved in the study. Participants who regularly exercised more intensely — such as going for a run or doing a HIIT workout — were more likely to perform better on spatial memory tasks. For instance, participants who engaged in light to moderate activity, such as going for regular walks, had better “episodic” memory. “We know that exercise works, but we don’t know which variables of exercise make the exercise more effective,” said Marc Roig, a physical and occupational therapy professor at McGill University who studies the effect of exercise on cognition and was not involved with the study.