The role of physical activity and brain training on cognitive functions and well-being in older adults

In the last few decades, the relationship between physical conditions and mental health in the elderly has increasingly attracted the interest of researchers and professionals.Evidence shows that physical activity is a protective factor as it determines enormous benefits on both cognitive functioning and well-being. Based on these premises, the present research aims to evaluate the relationship between Physical Activity, Cognitive Function, namely attention and memory, and social well-being in a volunteer sample of sixty-one Italian old adults, aged between sixty five and eighty-three years. Participants were administered the Short Form Health Survey, the Trail Making Test and the Serial Repetition Bisyllabic Words Test, before and after a training program designed by a team of different specialists within a joint project. Findings showed that physical activity has positive effects on both cognitive functions and quality of lfe, thus emphasizing the additional role of training programs (including cognitive training exercises) as cost-effective opportunities or elderly people to socialize (Pace & Zappulla, 2013).