New studies show that strength training boosts memory.
A 2014 Georgia Tech study analyzed the effects of resistance training on episodic memory — memory that’s rooted in a particular event — and the results make for just one more reason to hit the weights.
Researchers divided 46 study participants into active and passive groups. All the participants looked at 90 photographs, after which the active group did a -series of strength-training exercises.
Participants viewed another set of images 48 hours later, comprising the original pictures and an additional 90. Members of the active group recalled about 10 percent more of the original -photos than their counterparts.
“Our study indicates that people don’t have to dedicate large amounts of time [to strength training] to give their brains a boost,” reports lead author and grad student Lisa Weinberg.
While the Georgia Tech participants were young (an average of 20 years old), the results are consistent with similar studies of older people, including a 2013 University of British Columbia study that found that both resistance and aerobic training improved spatial memory for women between the ages of 70 and 80 with mild -cognitive impairment.
So regardless of your age, consider weightlifting beneficial for both your body and mind.