ABSTRACT
Nola is a kinesiology major at a large research university. Students in her program are encouraged to get involved in faculty members’ research projects. After looking over her options, Nola decides to work in the laboratory of a professor who is studying the effects of exercise on cognitive processing. As a result of her experience, Nola strongly encourages her grandparents, George and Phyllis, to become more physically active. Using what she has learned from working in the lab, Nola recommends that her grandparents begin walking together each evening after dinner. When the weather gets colder, George and Phyllis join a group of older adults who walk inside the local mall every morning before it opens for business. When she sees her grandparents over the holidays, Nola is amazed by how much more alert and “with it” they seem. George and Phyllis have even lost a little bit of weight, and they comment to Nola that they feel so much better and are no longer having as much trouble remembering where they put things. As she listens to them, Nola realizes that she is seeing living proof of the research she has been assisting with—older adults really can improve their cognitive functioning by exercising.
