9 minutes a day to prevent cognitive decline

Middle-aged adults who spend just 9 additional minutes a day participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) experience improved cognition.

The findings were published online January 23 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

The new study included 4481 participants in the British Cohort Study who were born in 1970 across England, Scotland, and Wales. The participants were followed throughout childhood and adulthood.

There was a 1.31% improvement in cognition ranking compared to the sample average after replacing 9 minutes of sedentary activity with MVPA (1.31; 95% CI, 0.09 - 2.50).

The findings confer with the growing consensus that some exercise is better than none when it comes to brain health.