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Study: Six minutes of high-intensity exercise may help ward off cognitive decline

By Mallika Marshall, MD

January 19, 2023 / 3:01 PM EST / CBS Boston

BOSTON – New research suggests that short bouts of exercise can help protect your brain from memory loss.

Scientists in New Zealand found that just six minutes of high-intensity exercise may help ward off cognitive decline even more than long low-intensity workout or fasting.

They say brief but vigorous bursts of activity increase the production of a special protein essential for brain formation, learning, and memory and may protect the brain from age-related cognitive decline.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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