Chronic exercise and executive functions in older adults – the treasury of combined cognitive and motor exercise

IF 3.9 2区心理学 Q2 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

Psychology of Sport and Exercise Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-10 DOI:10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.103023

Bettina Wollesen , Claudia Voelker-Rehage

{"title":"Chronic exercise and executive functions in older adults – the treasury of combined cognitive and motor exercise","authors":"Bettina Wollesen , Claudia Voelker-Rehage","doi":"10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.103023","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Executive functions (EFs) which include inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, typically decline with age. This increases the risk of falls and reduces independence and quality of life. Traditional interventions such as aerobic training, resistance training, and coordination training have demonstrated general benefits for cognitive health, with some studies reporting modest improvements in EFs. However, the evidence is mixed, with the effect sizes varying depending on the type of training and the design of the study.</div><div>A growing body of research supports cognitive-motor dual-task (CMDT) training, which combines physical and cognitive tasks. Among its variants, simultaneous CMDT, where both tasks are performed together, has shown the most promise. This method more effectively engages shared cognitive and motor resources and mirrors real-life multitasking demands. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses consistently suggest that simultaneous CMDT leads to greater improvements in EFs and dual-task performance than physical or cognitive training alone. It is also associated with enhanced mobility, reduced fall risk, and improved functional independence in older adults. The effectiveness of training depends on characteristics such as frequency, duration, and session length, though the role of intensity remains understudied.</div><div>In conclusion, while traditional physical training remains valuable, simultaneous CMDT stands out as a particularly effective and ecologically valid intervention for preserving executive and functional abilities in aging populations. There is also potential for its application to be expanded to age and clinical groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54536,"journal":{"name":"Psychology of Sport and Exercise","volume":"82 ","pages":"Article 103023"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychology of Sport and Exercise","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029225002225","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/11/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Executive functions (EFs) which include inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, typically decline with age. This increases the risk of falls and reduces independence and quality of life. Traditional interventions such as aerobic training, resistance training, and coordination training have demonstrated general benefits for cognitive health, with some studies reporting modest improvements in EFs. However, the evidence is mixed, with the effect sizes varying depending on the type of training and the design of the study.

A growing body of research supports cognitive-motor dual-task (CMDT) training, which combines physical and cognitive tasks. Among its variants, simultaneous CMDT, where both tasks are performed together, has shown the most promise. This method more effectively engages shared cognitive and motor resources and mirrors real-life multitasking demands. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses consistently suggest that simultaneous CMDT leads to greater improvements in EFs and dual-task performance than physical or cognitive training alone. It is also associated with enhanced mobility, reduced fall risk, and improved functional independence in older adults. The effectiveness of training depends on characteristics such as frequency, duration, and session length, though the role of intensity remains understudied.

In conclusion, while traditional physical training remains valuable, simultaneous CMDT stands out as a particularly effective and ecologically valid intervention for preserving executive and functional abilities in aging populations. There is also potential for its application to be expanded to age and clinical groups.

查看原文本刊更多论文

老年人的慢性运动和执行功能——认知和运动联合锻炼的宝库慢性运动干预对健康老年人执行功能和最佳训练特征的影响：基于随机对照试验的系统综述。

执行功能（EFs）包括抑制、工作记忆和认知灵活性，通常会随着年龄的增长而下降。这增加了跌倒的风险，降低了独立性和生活质量。传统的干预措施，如有氧训练、抗阻训练和协调性训练，已经证明对认知健康有普遍的好处，一些研究报告了ef的适度改善。然而，证据是混合的，效果大小取决于训练的类型和研究的设计。越来越多的研究支持认知-运动双任务（CMDT）训练，它结合了身体和认知任务。在其变体中，同时执行两项任务的同步CMDT显示出最大的希望。这种方法更有效地利用共享的认知和运动资源，并反映了现实生活中的多任务处理需求。系统综述和荟萃分析一致表明，同时进行CMDT比单独进行身体或认知训练更能改善ef和双任务表现。它还可以增强老年人的活动能力，降低跌倒风险，改善功能独立性。训练的有效性取决于频率、持续时间和训练时长等特征，但强度的作用仍未得到充分研究。总之，虽然传统的体育训练仍然有价值，但同时进行的CMDT作为一种特别有效和生态有效的干预措施，在保护老年人的执行和功能能力方面脱颖而出。它的应用也有可能扩展到年龄和临床群体。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Psychology of Sport and Exercise 医学-心理学

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

5.90%

发文量

172

审稿时长

69 days

期刊介绍： Psychology of Sport and Exercise is an international forum for scholarly reports in the psychology of sport and exercise, broadly defined. The journal is open to the use of diverse methodological approaches. Manuscripts that will be considered for publication will present results from high quality empirical research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, commentaries concerning already published PSE papers or topics of general interest for PSE readers, protocol papers for trials, and reports of professional practice (which will need to demonstrate academic rigour and go beyond mere description). The CONSORT guidelines consort-statement need to be followed for protocol papers for trials; authors should present a flow diagramme and attach with their cover letter the CONSORT checklist. For meta-analysis, the PRISMA prisma-statement guidelines should be followed; authors should present a flow diagramme and attach with their cover letter the PRISMA checklist. For systematic reviews it is recommended that the PRISMA guidelines are followed, although it is not compulsory. Authors interested in submitting replications of published studies need to contact the Editors-in-Chief before they start their replication. We are not interested in manuscripts that aim to test the psychometric properties of an existing scale from English to another language, unless new validation methods are used which address previously unanswered research questions.