Written by Alison Proffitt
Researchers in Belgium compared cognition to movement data in healthy adults looking for links that might predict cognitive decline later in life. This study is part of the PASOCA project (How Physical Activity and Sleep Are Associated with Optimal Cognitive Aging), a 2-year longitudinal observational study examining 24-hour movement behaviors and cognitive function in cognitively healthy adults aged 55 years or older residing in Flanders, Belgium. Their findings were published online (pre-print) earlier this month in Journal of Activity, Sedentary Behaviors and Sleep (doi: 10.1186/s44167-026-00100-7).
The relationship between activity and cognition in middle-aged and older adults has been elusive, the authors wrote in the paper. “Overall, existing evidence remains limited, cross-sectional, and inconclusive. While two studies reported no significant associations between 24-hour movement behaviors and cognition in this population, five studies suggested a possible relationship and suggested that reallocating time to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may be positively associated with cognitive outcomes.”
To better understand the relationship, a team from the Leuven Brain Institute and Ghent University, both in Belgium, evaluated 233 adults between the ages of 60 and 76 over three years. Each year, participants used a wrist-worn accelerometer to track physical activity — active, sedentary, or sleep — for seven days. Accelerometers measured acceleration subtracted from gravity (in milligrams) and categorized participants’ activity into time spent sitting or sleeping, light activity, or moderate to vigorous activity.
Cognition was measured using the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Testing Battery (CANTAB), a validated computerized instrument from Cambridge Cognition to assess multiple cognitive domains. The battery included six tests that yielded short-term composite scores–Long term memory–Short-term memory, executive function, and processing speed. A familiarization task and a 5-minute break were included, bringing the total testing time to approximately 1 hour. “The testing sequence was chosen in collaboration with the CANTAB scientific team to switch between cognitive domains as much as possible, helping to reduce participant fatigue and potential carryover effects,” the authors wrote.
The researchers then made longitudinal comparisons between their physical activity and cognition over two years (baseline, year 1, year 2).
The results revealed no significant association between physical activity and short-term memory, long-term memory, or processing speed. However, there was an association between executive functioning and how active a person was. Exploratory analyzes indicated that moderate to vigorous physical activity leads to executive functioning. “Across all time periods, reallocating time from (light physical activity) or sleep to (moderate to vigorous physical activity) was consistently associated with estimated positive changes in (executive function scores),” the researchers wrote. “A similar but inverse pattern was observed when time was reallocated away from (moderate to vigorous physical activity) to other behaviors.”
It’s clear, the authors write, that physical activity is linked to cognitive health, especially the amount of time we spend in moderate to vigorous activity, but there are many questions that still need to be answered. “Future research should examine longer follow-up periods, the (cognitive) context of behaviors, and how changes in the composition of time use relate to changes in cognition,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
