April 14, 2026 | Researchers in Belgium compared cognition to movement data in healthy adults looking for links that might predict cognitive decline later in life. The study is part of the PASOCA-project (how Physical Activity and Sleep relate to Optimal Cognitive Ageing), a two-year longitudinal, observational study examining 24-hour movement behaviors and cognitive function in cognitively healthy adults aged 55 and older residing in Flanders, Belgium. Their findings were published online (pre-press) earlier this month in the Journal of Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviors (DOI: 10.1186/s44167-026-00100-7).
The connection between activity and cognition in middle-aged and older adults has been elusive, the authors write in the paper. “Overall, the existing evidence remains limited, cross-sectional and inconclusive. While two studies reported no significant associations between 24-hour movement behaviors and cognition in this population, five studies suggested a potential relationship and pointed out that reallocating time to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may be positively associated with cognitive outcomes.”
To better grasp the connection, the team from Leuven Brain Institute and Ghent University, both in Belgium, assessed 233 adults between the ages of 60 and 76 over three years. Each year, the participants used a wrist-worn accelerometer to track physical activity—active, sedentary, or sleeping—for seven days. The accelerometers measured gravity-subtracted acceleration (in milli-g) and sorted the participants’ activity into time spent sedentary or sleeping, light activity, or moderate-to-vigorous activity.
Cognition was measured using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), a validated computerized tool from Cambridge Cognition for assessing multiple cognitive domains. The battery included six tests that yielded composite scores for short‑term memory, long‑term memory, executive function, and processing speed. A familiarization task and a 5-minute break were included, bringing the total testing time to approximately one hour. “The test sequence was chosen in collaboration with CANTAB’s scientific team to alternate between cognitive domains as best as possible, helping to reduce participant fatigue and potential carry-over effects,” the authors write.
The researchers then made longitudinal comparisons between their physical activity and cognition over the course of two years (baseline, year one, year two).
The findings revealed no significant association between physical activity and short-term memory, long-term memory, or processing speed. There was, however, an association between executive functioning and how active a person was. Exploratory analyses suggested that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity drove executive functioning. “Across all time points, reallocating time from [light physical activity] or sleep to [moderate-to-vigorous physical activity] was consistently associated with positive estimated changes in [executive function scores],” the authors write. “A similar but inverse pattern was observed when time was reallocated away from [moderate-to-vigorous physical activity] to other behaviors.”
It’s clear, the authors write, that physical activity is linked to cognitive health, particularly how much time we spend in moderate to vigorous activity, but there are many questions that remain to be answered. “Future research should examine longer follow-up periods, the (cognitive) context of behaviors and how changes in time-use composition relate to changes in cognition,” the researchers write in the paper.