An acute bout of exercise improves the cognitive performance of older adults

There is evidence that an acute bout of exercise confers cognitive benefits, but it is largely unknown what the optimal mode and duration of exercise is and how cognitive performance changes over time after exercise. We compared the cognitive performance of 31 older adults using the Stroop test before, immediately after, and at 30 and 60 minutes after a 10 and 30 minute aerobic or resistance exercise session. Heart rate and feelings of arousal were also measured before, during and after exercise. We found that independent of mode or duration of exercise, the participants improved in the Stroop Inhibition task immediately post-exercise. We did not find the exercise influenced the performance of the Stroop Color or Stroop Word Interference tasks. Our findings suggest that an acute bout of exercise can improve cognitive performance, and in particular the more complex executive functioning, of older adults