Older adults may not be thinking about high-intensity interval training (HIIT) when they think about their brain health, but a study published Feb. 17 in NPJ Science of Learning found it can improve motor skills. Engaging in HIIT didn’t help people acquire motor skills, though.
Researchers examined 24 adults between the ages of 55 and 75. None of the people had pre-existing conditions that were chronic. People had to undergo a baseline cardio fitness test and wait 48 hours before the experimental session that involved 20 minutes of HIIT and then a sequential visual isometric pinch task (SVIPT). Each person was assigned to exercise on a stationary bike or active rest.
Investigators used the SVIPT to assess the link between exercise and motor learning. The test evaluates stages of motor learning. The team took baseline SVIPT readings to see each person’s voluntary pinch contraction (MVC) maximum (measure of strength).
Younger individuals had better motor learning during both active exercise and rest phases (online and offline) compared to older individuals. Older people had better resting retention performance after HIIT compared to those who didn’t exercise. On the flip side, acute exercise reduced online motor skill acquisition, as participants of all ages who exercised performed worse than those who did not. The online learning included completing a motor sequence learning task.
Current research shows that exercise can have a role in memory and motor skill acquisition and learning. There hasn’t been much research on this in older adults, though.
“The current study found no benefit of acute exercise on online learning of a motor sequence learning task in healthy older adults. Indeed, exercise had a detrimental impact on motor performance during acquisition, though this was specific to the oldest participants in our study,” the authors wrote.
High-intensity exercise didn’t help people get motor learning skills, and for some participants exercise had a negative impact. But HIIT exercise improved consolidation of the motor skills, the authors noted.
