How a Cold War spy test boosts fitness and sharpness – would YOU pass?

The key to remaining mentally sharp and physically fit in old age might be a brain exercise used to expose Cold War-era spies. 

In the mid- to late-20th century, American officials were wary of Russian spies lurking in the government and stealing state secrets. 

To expose them, suspected spies were given a brain exercise that involved color-word combinations and exposed whether Russian was their native language. 

Now, researchers believe a similar series of challenges called Brain Endurance Training (BET) can be used on the elderly to ward off dementia and cognitive decline.  

Scientists in the UK and Spain found seniors who took part in BET exercises performed better cognitively and physically.

Of the 24 senior women tested, the BET group showed more significant gains in tasks like walking, chair stands, and arm curls and exhibited enhanced cognitive performance in attention tasks.

BET also increased resilience to mental fatigue, helping participants perform better after demanding cognitive tasks. And the benefits remained evident at a follow up one month later. 

One example of BET is the Stroop Test, in which people are shown a series of colored words that spell out a color different from the one in which it’s written. 

Test takers are asked to name the color of the ink each word is written in, not the word itself. 

For example, the word ‘blue’ might be written in red ink, or ‘yellow’ may be written in purple. 

It’s the test taker’s job to name the colors of the ink, not read the words, and do that as quickly as possible. 

This test is rumored to have been used to help Americans identify spies during the Cold War. 

Spies might have difficulty with response inhibition — the ability to suppress automatic reactions — if they are feeling anxious or focused on hiding their true identity. 

Words were written in Russian, so people who didn’t speak Russian could easily identify the colors without being distracted by the meaning of the words. 

However, those who did speak Russian took longer to respond because they automatically processed the meaning of the words, revealing their language proficiency and exposing them as spies. 

While not screening for spies, the UK and Spanish researchers tested this type of cognitive processing on 24 healthy women from a local rural Spanish community ranging in age from 65 to 78 years old. 

The women were randomly assigned to one of three groups – the first group underwent BET and physical training, another did only physical exercise training, and a third control group did not do any training.

Researchers assessed participants’ physical and mental health before the experiment started and checked their progress at week four, at the end of week eight, and again during a follow-up assessment four weeks after that. 

BET also increased resilience to mental fatigue among senior women in a rural Spanish community, helping them perform better after demanding cognitive tasks, and the benefits remained evident at a follow up a month later

Researchers measured respondents’ fatigue by the number of correct responses to the Stroop test in 45 seconds. 

They also measured reaction time, where participants had to react as fast as possible, measured in milliseconds, to a visual stimulus. A faster response indicated less fatigue. 

Assessments were conducted before and after the cognitive tasks to evaluate how mental fatigue impacts performance.

Over 12 weeks, both the BET and exercise-only groups completed the same physical training routine, consisting of three 45-minute sessions per week for eight weeks.

Each session included 20 minutes of resistance exercises, such as squats and bicep curls, and 25 minutes of walking.

All participants took the Stroop test after their physical exercises. The main distinction was that the BET group also completed the Stroop test and the reaction time test before each workout. 

As part of the Stroop test, the women were asked to name the color of the ink while ignoring the actual word, a difficult task given that reading words in a language you are fluent in is an automatic process. 

When the color does not match the word, the brain struggles to make sense of this conflicting information and has to prioritize one cognitive process over another, similar to when you try to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time. 

Seniors who took the Stroop test before exercise saw improved reaction times, performed physical tasks like arm curls better, and walked farther in six minutes than the seniors who didn’t undergo BET training.

Researchers also showed seniors taking the Stroop test before exercise became faster and more accurate as the experiment continued, even when fatigued. Their reaction times also improved with BET training.

At the test’s midpoint, endpoint, and follow-up points, the BET group consistently outperformed the exercise-only and control groups on the arm curl and walking endurance.

Participants in the BET group also reported feeling less tired than the control group, especially at the mid-and post-tests, suggesting that brain exercises make the body more resilient to fatigue.

The researchers said: ‘In support of our third study hypothesis, the findings show, for the first time, that BET is an effective countermeasure against mental fatigue and its detrimental effects on performance in older adults.’

They added that BET is recommended for older adults to enhance performance and mitigate the negative impacts of mental fatigue on behavior, potentially leading to better balance control and a reduced risk of potentially fatal falls and accidents.