As we age, we become increasingly more aware that we cannot recall things as easily as we did in our youth. While plenty of research has shown that we can keep our brains mentally active and improve our memory by reading about new subjects or doing Sudoku puzzles, new research has shown that some physical activities can improve our cognitive skills as well.
Research from the Department of Psychology at the University of North Florida suggests that when we engage in proprioceptively dynamic activities, such as climbing a tree, we can improve our working memory by up to 50% in as little as 2 hours. Working memory is the active processing of information and is linked to both physical and mental performance.
Proprioception is the body’s awareness of its position and orientation. The improvement in working memory occurred when proprioceptively dynamic skills were combined with one other element, such as locomotion or route planning. The activities, which were tested included climbing trees, walking or crawling on a beam that was 3” wide, moving while paying attention to posture, running barefoot, navigating around obstacles, and lifting and carrying awkwardly weighted objects. Sitting in a college lecture and taking a yoga class did not improve working memory. The difference seems to be that as our environment and terrain changes, we recruit working memory to update information to adapt appropriately.
The lead researcher, Dr. Ross Alloway, concluded, “By taking a break to do activities that are unpredictable and require us to consciously adapt our movements, we can boost our working memory to perform better in the classroom and the boardroom.”