Working Memory refers to the ability to retain information for a short period of time while completing cognitive tasks like understanding something, problem-solving, and reasoning.
Although the link between sports expertise and working memory has attracted increasing attention in experimental research, studies have delivered inconsistent results on how working memory differs between athletes and non-athletes.
To understand more about the relationship between sports expertise and working memory, researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 21 studies involving 1455 participants, including athletes of various sports, such as basketball, badminton, football, and fencing. Non-athletes included some individuals identified as sedentary.
Ultimately, the researchers found that young adult athletes had a slightly higher advantage in working memory than non-athletes and that this was true for different performance levels and types of sports, such as individual/ team sports, aerobic/ anaerobic sports, and contact sports with a 'collision risk.' The relationship was particularly strong when athletes were compared to sedentary individuals, compared to an analysis where the sedentary group was excluded from the non-athlete reference group.
To explain the findings, the researchers noted that sports might aid working memory both physiologically and psychologically. Phsycilogiocally, sports increase cerebral blood flow and promote neural network plasticity, which make information processing and cognitive functioning more efficient. Psychologically, sports improve cognitive performance via improved control, attention allocation, and information processing.
“Our findings indicate a consistent link between sports expertise and improved working memory performance, while sedentary lifestyles appear to be associated with working memory disadvantages,” wrote the researchers in their paper.
The researchers noted that most of the research included in the meta-analysis had a low risk of bias.
Sources: Neuroscience News, Memory
