Sports Improve Memory Performance

(University of Geneva, September 23, 2020)

By evaluating memory performance following a sport session, neuroscientists from the University of Geneva recently demonstrated that an intensive physical exercise session as short as 15 minutes improves memory, including the acquisition of new motor skills. Subsequent analyses revealed that the faster individuals are, the more they activate their hippocampus (the brain area of memory) and the caudate nucleus (a brain structure involved in motor processes), and the higher their endocannabinoid (molecules known to increase synaptic plasticity) levels are. Interestingly, the team had previously observed that a moderate sport session produced better results on associative memory, thereby illustrating that as not all forms of memory use the same brain mechanisms, not all sports intensities have the same effects. However, it should be noted that in all cases, physical exercise improves memory more than inaction.