A large review combined the results of many earlier reviews to see whether exercise helps thinking skills. It pulled together 133 systematic reviews, which covered 2,724 separate randomized trials and 258,279 people. The people ranged from children to older adults, in both patient groups and the general public, with average ages from 6.8 to 89.2 years.
Overall, exercise was tied to better general thinking, with a small to moderate effect. It also helped memory and executive function, the skills used to plan and focus. The gain in executive function was largest for people with ADHD and smaller in the other groups. When the authors looked only at the strongest studies, the effects were smaller.
The benefits showed up across many kinds of exercise, including light activity, active video games, and mind-body practices like yoga and Tai Chi. Still, the evidence has weak spots. Most of the reviews, 71%, were rated as very low quality. The tests used to measure thinking varied a lot, and some were built to spot impairment, so they may not capture change in healthy people. There were also signs that studies with weaker results may not have been published.
The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Singh, 2025: general thinking SMD 0.42; memory SMD 0.26; executive function SMD 0.24. Executive function in people with ADHD SMD 0.72, compared with a range of 0.13 to 0.25 in other groups. Strongest studies only: 0.23 for general thinking, 0.22 for memory and 0.16 for executive function.
What the terms mean:
- SMD (standardized mean difference) is an effect size, read the same way as d: roughly, 0.2 is small, 0.5 is moderate and 0.8 is large.
Source: Singh B, Bennett H, Miatke A, et al.. Effectiveness of exercise for improving cognition, memory and executive function: a systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine (2025). doi:10.1136/bjsports-2024-108589