Advertisement - Continue Reading Below eating well, exercising regularly – hello, running – and constantly challenging your mind by learning and trying new things. But new research suggests that logging just five minutes of another type of physical activity can give your brain a big boost, too.

The study, which was published in Age and Aging, found that doing short bursts of exercise which raises your heart rate can help to enhance cognitive performance, especially in older adults. But what kind of exercise are we talking about and why does it help? Here’s what the science has to say.

What did the study find?

For the study, researchers analysed data from 585 older adults between the ages of 65 and 80 who participated in the longitudinal IGNITE trial. The researchers looked at a range of things, including the participants’ sleeping habits, physical activity and sedentary behaviour over 24 hours and stacked that against their cognitive performance.

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On a macro level, the researchers found that people who did more exercise had better brain health. When they did less, it seemed to decline. However, when they dug into the specifics, they found that doing just five minutes of exercise that raises heart rate – like a brisk walk, Health & Injuries easy run, or even water aerobics – was linked with better cognition.

Specifically, when people did more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity like brisk walking, they had better processing speed (which is how fast your brain thinks), executive function (which is how well you plan, focus and multitask) and working memory (which is your ability to store information for short periods of time).

Why is brisk walking good for you?

The big perk of brisk walking is that it can get your blood pumping, says Clifford Segil, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Centre in California. ‘Brisk walking increases blood flow to your legs and gets your heart rate up,’ he says. ‘Any time your heart rate goes up, the flow of blood to your head is increased.’

It comes as no surprise that regular exercise does wonders for your health – but it’s worth knowing that these benefits can extend to the brain, too. ‘What’s good for the body is usually good for the brain,’ explains Amit Sachdev, This runner breastfed during a 100K ultra and won.

On the flip side, skipping your run or ignoring your daily movement goals can damage your brain health. ‘Being sedentary or a couch potato is bad for your bones, nerves, heart, muscles and brain,’ says Dr Segil.

Is five minutes really enough to make a difference?

According to the study results, yes – although the greatest improvement appears in people who are usually sedentary. In the researchers’ own words: ‘Moving from around one minute of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day to around six minutes per day had the largest predicted differences in the domains of executive function/attentional control, processing speed and working memory.’

What is considered ‘brisk’ walking?

What is the average walking speed walking speed that gets your heart rate up. ‘Brisk walking involves moving at a pace where you notice an elevation in your heart rate and breathing rate, which reflects an increased intensity of physical activity,’ says Audrey Collins, the study’s lead author and a post-doctoral research scientist with AdventHealth. ‘For example, walking at a leisurely pace is representative of low-intensity physical activity, while brisk walking at a faster pace moves into a moderate-intensity level.’

So, if you don’t quite have enough time to squeeze in a run or workout, consider taking at least a quick walk around the block instead – it’ll do your brain a big favour.

From: Women's Health US