Active ageing lifestyle with healthy cognition: A pilot study for an ExCITE solution

Abstract

Individuals across the lifespan have become increasingly inactive during the last several decades and the increasingly sedentary lifestyle is detrimental not only for physical health, but also for cognitive and brain health (Chaddock, Voss, & Kramer, 2012). In fact, neurological (e.g., Alzheimer’s and other dementias), vision and hearing disorders are one of the leading causes for burden of disease and injury in Singapore, following cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart disease and stroke), cancers (e.g., lung and breast cancers). Specifically, Alzheimer’s and other dementias were ranked fifth amongst the top 10 leading specific causes of total disability-adjusted life years (Ministry of Health, 2010).  

Considering the increasing aging population and threat of dementia, research about the plasticity of the aging active brain has important public health implication (Chaddock, Voss, & Kramer, 2012). Cognitive and physical exercise done independently can enhance cognition in both cognitively normal and cognitively impaired individuals. A review of such interventions (Karr, Areshenkoff, Rast, & Garcia-Barrera, 2014) has suggested that combining both cognitive and exercise training in an intervention programme may be advantageous to increase this enhancement. This type of activity has yet to be well researched and implemented.


Given the hot and humid climate and community environments (e.g., sidewalks and street traffic) in Singapore, common aerobic exercises such as walking and jogging may not be the first choice for sedentary older adults in Singapore. Therefore, we propose to develop an intervention programme (ExCITE: Exercise-Cognition Integrated Training for Enhanced active lifestyle) that incorporates both cognitive and physical exercise components that can be easily implemented and weaved into the lifestyles of our aging population. To this end, the present proposed project aims to fill the research gap and develop a cognitive control exercise training programme, which integrates both components of cognition and physical exercise based on a new training paradigm.  

Principal Investigator

Chen Shen-Hsing Annabel

Prof Chen Shen-Hsing Annabel

School of Social Sciences

Prof S.H. Annabel Chen is the President's Chair Professor of Psychology at School of Social Sciences and has joint appointments at LKCMedicine and the National Institute of Education. She is a clinical neuropsychologist (licensed in Clinical Psych ...

Appointments:
Director, Cradle@NTU President's Chair in Psychology Professor, School of Social Sciences Professor, National Institute of Education (Courtesy Appointment)

Keywords: Ageing | Child Development | Healthy Brain Ageing | Mental Health | Neuroscience | Psychology | Science of Learning

active ageing