Study: Aerobic exercise helps preserve women’s sharpness after menopause

Aerobic exercise may help postmenopausal women maintain sharper thinking, particularly the mental skills needed to plan, focus and manage several tasks at once. That is the finding of a recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Women who exercised aerobically four days a week for six months performed better on cognitive tests than participants who concentrated on stretching and toning. The strongest improvement appeared in executive function, a group of abilities that includes planning, managing multiple tasks, maintaining attention and preserving independence.

The study recruited 93 healthy women between the ages of 20 and 67. Half joined an aerobic exercise program, using options such as a treadmill, elliptical machine or stationary bicycle. The other participants performed flexibility and core exercises.

Lead researcher Sharon Sanz Simon said all participants began with below-average cardiorespiratory fitness and did not exercise regularly. “So the study’s results are relevant to postmenopausal women in general, not only those who are already active,” said Sanz Simon, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School.

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So the study’s results are relevant to postmenopausal women in general, not only those who are already active.