Orienteering, a sport that blends exercise with navigation challenges, may offer greater brain benefits than exercise alone where the more intense the activity, the greater the cognitive benefits, according to new research from McMaster University and published in the online journal, PLoS One.
The study had 63 active, healthy young adults with no orienteering experience navigate a course on the McMaster campus, either by walking or running. A control group exercised vigorously without navigating.
Researchers measured exercise intensity and brain plasticity indicators, such as lactate and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), from blood samples. They tested memory performance before and after the sessions.
Running increased lactate, BDNF, and memory more than walking, with significant spatial memory benefits for those running while orienteering.
“Remarkably, even a single orienteering session improved spatial memory in our study participants,” says lead author Emma Waddington.
Orienteering demands that athletes quickly navigate through unknown terrain using only a map and compass, engaging the hippocampus, a brain area susceptible to age-related decline. Degeneration in this region affects learning, memory, and spatial cognition. Losing the ability to navigate is an early and common symptom of Alzheimer’s, affecting half of those with the disease, even in mildest stage.
Reliance on GPS technology may lead to diminished way-finding skills, thus weakening our ability to form connections that are needed to preserve our cognition as we age, for which orienteering could help revive.
Our brains need cognitive challenges and physical challenges everyday to maintain its health. Find these challenges everyday wherever you can from long aimless walks to going out for a run without your GPS device. Even better, try to explore new locations or take odd turns you don’t normally take.
EE Waddington et al. Orienteering combines vigorous-intensity exercise with navigation to improve human cognition and increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor. PLoS One (2024). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303785
