This study is not specifically about yoga or pilates, but it does address the effect of moderate exercise on cognition in late life. Surprisingly, the study concluded that light exercise and vigorous exercise were not significantly associated with decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment; however, moderate exercise was associated with decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment.
The study took place within the The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, Olmsted County, Minnesota. A total of 1324 subjects without dementia completed a Physical Exercise Questionnaire. An expert consensus panel classified each subject as having normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment.
The researchers compared frequency of physical exercise among 198 subjects with mild cognitive impairment with the frequency of exercise among 1126 subjects with normal cognition and adjusted the analyses for age, sex, years of education, medical comorbidity, and depression. The research showed that light exercise and vigorous exercise were not significantly associated with a DECREASED risk of mild cognitive impairment. However, this population-based case-control study did show that any frequency of MODERATE exercise performed in midlife or late life was associated with a reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment later in life. Abstract: PubMed. Article: "Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a population-based study," A.M.A. Archives of Neurology [2010 Jan;67(1):80-6]
