The Research
No matter what your age, gender or background, there’s always a lot to be gained from regular strength/resistance training. It is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your independence for many years to come.
Cardiovascular exercises like running, jogging have been shown to increase mental health. But recent studies have also suggested that regular resistance training (strength training and weightlifting) can provide a boost to our overall cognitive performance.
Young Adults Can Benefit From Weightlifting
According to lead researcher Lisa Weinberg: “Our study indicates that people don’t have to dedicate large amounts of time to give their brain a boost.” In support of this, The Georgia Institute of Technology found that younger adults who lifted weights not only strengthen their muscles but their brains too. Astoundingly only a couple of 20 minutes sessions showed a positive impact in long-term memory in the participants.
Source: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/19681/McCracken_indiana_0093A_13393.pdf?sequence=1
In this experiment, 46 volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two groups—one active, and one passive. Initially, all of the participants viewed a series of 90 images, classified as either positive, neutral, or negative. Afterward, they were asked to recall as many images as they could.
Further research showed participants a series of positive, negative and neutral images (emotional experiences). Each participant was then allocated to a group; either active or passive. The active group performed 50 leg extensions at maximum effort (short term stress experience). The passive group let the machine move their legs without any exertion.
Two days later participants from both groups were shown the images again. Researchers recorded improved recall for the active group of both negative and positive images.
The final findings suggested a correlation between short term stress and memory improvement (in this case the recall of emotional experiences)