Skill-Based Sports

This review explores how exercise, sports, and performance arts improve cognition through skill acquisition. Activities that require learning new skills, such as dance, sports, or playing a musical instrument, enhance cognitive functions like memory, attention, and problem-solving by engaging the brain in physical and mental challenges. Unlike routine exercise, skill-based activities provide long-term cognitive benefits by promoting neuroplasticity. Findings suggest that cognitive improvements depend more on the mental engagement required for skill acquisition than on the physical intensity of the activity. This highlights the potential of integrating mentally stimulating physical activities into routines to support lifelong brain health.

This review examines how physical activity, sports, and exercise improve cognitive functioning across various populations. It highlights that consistent physical activity enhances brain plasticity, memory, attention, and executive functions. Among children and adolescents, regular aerobic fitness improves brain structure and cognitive speed. In the elderly, exercise mitigates cognitive decline and neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s. Mechanisms like neurogenesis and increased BDNF are discussed, though further studies are required to confirm exact pathways. The paper emphasizes tailored exercise programs to optimize cognitive health for different age groups and conditions.

This study investigates how regular participation in sports affects attention and brain function in young adults using Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). Thirty-three participants were grouped into swimmers, karate practitioners, and irregular exercisers. Results showed that regular exercisers, regardless of sport type, had improved brain responses, as indicated by higher P3 amplitudes (linked to attention) and shorter latencies (faster cognitive processing). These findings suggest that consistent physical activity positively influences attentional resources and cognitive speed, highlighting exercise's general benefit to brain health.

This narrative review explores the psychological benefits of physical activity and sports, emphasizing their role in mental health and emotional resilience. Regular participation in sports fosters mood regulation, stress-management, and cognitive enhancement by triggering neurochemical changes in the brain. It also builds resilience by exposing individuals to structured challenges, promoting social interactions, and strengthening coping mechanisms. However, the paper also warns of risks such as exercise addiction, highlighting the need for balance. Its insights advocate for integrating physical activity into mental health strategies to enhance overall well-being.

This study compared the cognitive effects of basketball training, a combined endurance and resistance training regimen, and a sedentary control group over four months. Basketball training improved participants' inhibition control (ability to suppress distractions) and working memory, while the endurance and resistance training group saw gains in inhibition and cognitive flexibility (task-switching skills). The control group showed no improvement and some decline. These results suggest that sports involving cognitive engagement, like basketball, enhance brain functions associated with decision-making and attention. The findings highlight the role of dynamic, cognitively demanding activities in promoting cognitive health.