Mental fatigue can severely impair cognitive and physical performance, especially in older adults, increasing their risk of falls, accidents, and other health concerns. A recent study found that combining cognitive and physical exercise training may help improve mental and physical function in older adults, particularly when tired.

Researchers randomly assigned 24 women aged 65 to 78 to one of three groups: brain+exercise training, exercise-only training, or no training (control). The brain+exercise and exercise-only groups completed three weekly sessions for eight weeks consisting of 20 minutes of resistance training (squats and bicep curls) and 25 minutes of endurance exercise (walking outside). The brain training consisted of various assessments that measure reaction time and cognitive inhibition—the brain’s ability to block distractions or irrelevant information—completed four times throughout the study.

The researchers found that the brain+exercise and exercise-only groups performed better than the control group on cognitive and physical tasks regardless of how tired they were. However, the brain+exercise group showed greater improvements, particularly when tired. On average, cognitive performance increased by 7.8% in the brain+exercise group compared to 4.5% in the exercise-only group. Similarly, physical performance improved by nearly 30% in the brain+exercise group compared to 22.4% in the exercise-only group.

The findings from this small study suggest that combining cognitive and physical training boosts mental and physical abilities in older adults, particularly when tired. This approach may help mitigate age-related declines and reduce the risk of falls and other health complications. Learn about the brain-protective effects of physical exercise in this episode featuring Dr. Rhonda Patrick.