Sports training can improve cognitive flexibility: Study

A study published in Psychology of Sport & Exercise suggests that sports training can help improve cognitive flexibility. Evidence has shown that sports can be an effective tool in building cognitively flexibility, as training requires a high degree of engaging with cognitive functions. This study sought to address that gap in research by exploring orienteering, which is a sport that involves navigating unfamiliar terrain while moving quickly, and is thought to use similar levels of physical and cognitive fitness. Results showed that participants who were orienteers scored higher on tasks of divergent thinking, verbal fluency, and voluntary switching, which is consistent with the researcher’s hypothesis that cognitive fluency would be improved by the adaptability and multitasking involved in orienteering.