The results showed that older adults were more distracted by irrelevant information than
younger adults, leading to worse performance in the physical task. Older adults had difficulty maintaining focus on the memory task when they encountered distractions, while younger participants remained focused despite any additional stimuli. This suggests a decline in cognitive functioning with age, as older adults are less able to ignore or disregard distracting information and remain on-task during physical activity. These findings may have significant implications for how healthcare practitioners train their patients and handle age-related issues involving memory recall tasks such as medication regimens or routine activities of daily living (ADLs). Knowledge of this phenomenon could easily be implemented into treatments designed for aging populations such as computer training programs which incorporate multitasking abilities to help improve attention span and reduce distractions associated with goal oriented tasks. Such interventions could also counterbalance decreases in executive functions caused by normal aging processes throughout life.
The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, participants were required to execute a physical task while concurrently sorting through relevant and irrelevant information presented on a screen. The researchers measured their reaction times when identifying unexpected items or shifts in focus as an indicator of distraction levels.
The study’s findings are valuable for those interested in understanding how age-related differences can affect the ability to multitask, particularly during physical activities.
Additionally, this information may help health educators and practitioners design more effective strategies for managing older adults’ exercise regimens in order to promote healthier aging and reduce fatigue-associated deficits associated with cognitively demanding tasks.The study’s findings are valuable for those interested in understanding how age-related differences can affect the ability to multitask, particularly during physical activities.
Additionally, this information may help health educators and practitioners design more effective strategies for managing older adults’ exercise regimens in order to promote healthier aging and reduce fatigue-associated deficits associated with cognitively demanding tasks.