Older people who indulge in physical activity should increase their amount of water intake, to reap the full cognitive benefits of exercise, researchers suggest.

Dehydration has been shown to impair exercise performance and brain function in young people, but less is known about its impact on older populations.

The findings showed that hydration boosts performance on test of executive function that includes the skills needed to plan, focus, remember and multitask following exercise.

Exercise has been shown to improve intellectual health, including executive function.

“Middle-age and older adults often display a blunted thirst perception, which places them at risk for dehydration and subsequently may reduce the cognitive health-related benefits of exercise,” said researchers including Brandon Yates, of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, US.

The study, presented at the American Physiological Society (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego, explored the association between hydration status before exercising and exercise-enhanced cognition in older adults.

The team recruited recreational cyclists (average age 55) who participated in a large cycling event on a warm day (78-86 degrees F).

The cyclists performed a “trail-making” executive function test–quickly and accurately connecting numbered dots using paper and pencil — before and after the event.

The team tested the volunteers’ urine before they exercised and divided them into two groups — normal hydration and dehydrated — based on their hydration status.

The normal hydration group showed noticeable improvement in the completion time of the trail-making test after cycling when compared to their pre-cycling test.

The dehydration group also completed their post-cycling test more quickly, but the time reduction was not significant.

“This suggests that older adults should adopt adequate drinking behaviours to reduce cognitive fatigue and potentially enhance the cognitive benefits of regular exercise participation,” the researchers said.

Taking dance classes can boost energy levels, flexibility and happiness in older adults and help them age better, a study has found. Researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia examined the health and wellbeing benefits of dancing.

Over a three-month project, researchers found that participants experienced higher energy levels, greater flexibility, improved posture, and an enhanced sense of achievement.

They also felt happier and enjoyed a sense of community and friendship.

“The project critically investigated older adults’ motivations to participate in ballet, the health and wellbeing outcomes for active older adults, and the examination of the teaching practices involved in this delivery,” said Felicity Mandile from QUT.

“We weren’t surprised by the research findings strongly indicating that ballet participation is considered to be a highly pleasurable activity for active older adults, we were pleasantly surprised by the flow on effects of that,” said Mandile.

“It found that ballet participation may contribute to positive outcomes across various health and wellbeing categories and promotes a general feeling of well-being,” she said.

Performance psychologist and former professional ballet dancer Professor Gene Moyle from QUT said movement, be it dance or other forms of exercise, was a critical factor in better ageing.

“The physical benefits of movement and dance on ageing bodies is well documented and our project really re-enforces these findings, however additionally highlights the joy and benefits social connections in dance can bring to people’s lives,” said Moyle.

“Some of the participants reported that they found the classes positively euphoric and transformational in the pleasure they felt at being part of such weekly social engagement,” she said.

आठवड्याचे पाच किंवा सहा दिवस काम करणे म्हणजे अनेकांसाठी कंटाळवाणेच. कित्येक जण तर शुक्रवार किंवा शनिवार कधी येतो याचीच आठवडाभर वाट पाहत असतात. वय वाढेल तसे तुमचे कामाचे दिवस कमी झाले तर किती मज्जा येईल ना? ऐकायला बरी वाटणारी ही गोष्ट प्रत्यक्षात झाली तर…आता तुम्ही म्हणाल असे कसे शक्य आहे? पण नुकत्याच करण्यात आलेल्या एका अभ्यासानुसार, ४० वर्षांहून अधिक वय असणाऱ्यांनी आठवड्यातील तीनच दिवस काम करावे. ऑस्ट्रेलियातील मेलबर्न इन्स्टीट्यूटमधील तज्ज्ञांनी याबाबत अभ्यास केला आहे. ४० वर्षाच्या वरील लोक आठवड्यातील ३ दिवस काम केले तरच सर्वोत्तम कामगिरी करु शकतात.

या अभ्यासासाठी ४० वर्षावरील ३५०० महिला आणि ३००० पुरुष यांचा समावेश करण्यात आला होता. अभ्यासकांनी यामध्ये सहभागी झालेल्यांच्या अॅबस्ट्रॅक्ट रिझनिंग, मेमरी, एक्सिक्युटीव्ह रिझनिंग यांसारख्या गोष्टींच्या चाचण्या घेतल्या. तसेच या अभ्यासकांनी सहभागींची आकलनविषयक कामगिरीचीही तपासणी केली. या लोकांनी आठवड्यातील २५ तास काम केल्यावर त्यांची कामगिरी ५५ तास काम केल्यावर असणाऱ्या कामगिरीपेक्षा अतिशय चांगली होती असा निर्ष्कर्षही यातून निघाला. यातील एका वरिष्ठ अभ्यासकाच्या म्हणण्यानुसार, तुमची बौद्धिक क्षमता ही तुम्ही किती वेळ काम करता यावर अवलंबून असते. जास्त ताण आणि थकवा आल्यास शरीर आणि बुद्धी एका मर्यादेपलिकडे तितकी चांगली कामगिरी करु शकत नाही.

कामाचे तास हे थेट तुमच्या कार्यक्षमतेशी निगडीत असल्याने वयाने मोठ्या व्यक्तींची कार्यक्षमता जास्त तास काम केल्यास कमी होत जाते. आठवड्याला ३० तासांहून जास्त काम करण्याचा मध्यमवयीनांच्या मेंदूच्या आरोग्यावर नकारात्मक परिणाम होतो. यामध्ये तुमच्या कामाचे स्वरुपही तुमची कार्यक्षमता ठरविण्यात महत्त्वाची भूमिका बजावते असेही या अभ्यासकांनी नोंदवले आहे. मात्र सरकारच्या म्हणण्यानुसार वयाच्या ६७ व्या वर्षापर्यंत कार्यरत राहणे हे नक्कीच फायदेशीर नसते. त्याचबरोबर तुम्हाला आवडणारे काम करणे आणि पुरेशा सुट्ट्या घेणे आवश्यक असल्याचे मतही या अभ्यासात नोंदविण्यात आले आहे.