Regular aerobic exercise – the kind that gets your heart pumping – can improve important thinking skills called executive functions, and the benefits appear especially strong for women after menopause, according to Rutgers researchers.
Executive functions help you plan, switch between tasks, stay focused and maintain independence. These skills often feel more difficult during and after the menopause transition.
Two-thirds of all Alzheimer’s disease diagnoses occur in women, and the hormonal shift around midlife creates a critical window to protect long-term brain health. Many women reduce consistent physical activity during and after menopause because of symptoms, stress or lack of clear exercise guidance for cognitive support.
Sharon Sanz Simon, an assistant professor of psychiatry with the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a core faculty member of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center within the Rutgers Brain Health Institute, led the study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
The researchers studied 93 healthy women ages 20 to 67, with 43% classified as post-menopausal.
“All participants began the study with below-average cardiorespiratory fitness levels and were not regularly exercising – making the results directly relevant to typical midlife and older women, not only those who are already active,” Sanz Simon said.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two six-month programs: aerobic exercise or a stretching-and-toning program. The researchers measured cognitive performance to track changes in executive function across the trial timeline.
“Post-menopausal women who completed aerobic exercise showed greater improvements in executive function – measured through standardized assessments of task-switching speed and error management – compared to women in the stretching group and more than pre-menopausal women doing the same aerobic program,” Sanz Simon said. “We observed measurable cognitive gains at three months into the program, and those benefits continued to strengthen through the six-month trial period.”
Most women were able to stick with the program: about 8 in 10 completed at least three months and about 7 in 10 completed the full six months. The improvement was specific to executive functions. Other thinking skills, such as memory or processing speed, didn’t show the same gains in this study.
“Many women report easier time switching between tasks, better ability to plan and organize, improved focus and mental flexibility, and feeling sharper in daily activities,” Sanz Simon said.
Drawing on the results from the study, BHI experts outline a practical aerobic exercise approach: three to four one-hour sessions per week, sustained for at least three to six months. Each session includes a 10- to 15-minute warm-up and gentle stretching, followed by 45 minutes of continuous moderate aerobic activity. Suitable activities include brisk walking, light jogging, cycling, elliptical training, swimming or water aerobics, and dance-based cardio. Consistency matters more than the specific activity chosen. Gradual intensity progression is recommended.
A detailed, evidence-based toolkit translating these findings into clear steps – including intensity guidance, adherence strategies, and safety notes – is available from the Rutgers Brain Health Institute.
The study draws from a multi-institutional collaboration including Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry, the Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Institute for Aging Research, Columbia University’s Departments of Psychiatry, Biostatistics, Endocrinology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Cognitive Neuroscience Division and the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research.
The researchers said further research will continue to unpack how lifestyle interventions can preserve cognitive health across the lifespan.
