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In the quest for longevity, the findings could inform personalized exercise for aging populations

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be great for cardiovascular health and weight loss, but it may also support cognitive health and could reduce the risk of dementia, according to a study published in “Aging and Disease.” 

The study, conducted at the University of Queensland, included 151 healthy seniors aged 65 to 86 who completed a six-month fitness program.

The Method

Each senior was assigned to complete one of three half-hour exercises for three days a week:  balance and stretching, brisk walking on the treadmill, or four HIIT cycles on the treadmill, which consisted of four minutes at 85% to 95% of a person’s maximum heart rate followed by three minutes of rest.

Participants were also tested to determine the function of the hippocampus, a brain region related to learning and memory. Cognitive testing was conducted electronically each month during the intervention and every six months during the follow-up period.

Credit: Photo by Christina Deravedisian on Unsplash

The Long-Term Benefits of HIIT

The researchers discovered that HIIT participants demonstrated positive changes in the hippocampus on repeat testing, with a follow-up study five years later revealing increased cognitive function for those in the HIIT group, even if they stopped doing HIIT. 

Following the conclusion of the study, the researchers propose that the improvement and long-term retention of hippocampal learning ability following HIIT exercise provides a new understanding of how the elderly population can be protected from cognitive decline—and could inform personalized exercise regimens for those at risk.

“This is the first study to our knowledge to identify that a HIIT paradigm for the healthy elderly is suitable and effective at significantly improving and retaining long-term hippocampal-dependent learning, for up to 5 years,” the study’s authors wrote. “Our finding of individualized, exercised-mediated responses of biomarkers as predictors for improved hippocampal functional outcomes offers a quantifiable metric to provide an effective exercise regimen.”

HIIT for Seniors

Robert Marchand, the French cyclist and Guinness World Records holder as the world’s oldest competitive cyclist at age 105, may have been onto something, but active seniors don’t need to break records to reap the benefits of HIIT. Some fitness brands have already leaned into catering to active aging populations, such as Senior Fitness with Meredith, which offers free videos, including a 17-minute HIIT workout. 

The full study can be found here. 

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