Potential Benefits of Tai Chi Chuan Exercise on the Cognitive Functions, Aerobic Capacity and Mood States of Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Experimental aging research pp. 1 - 14
• Main Authors: Ouyang, Bowen, Liu, Liyu, Li, Kanyue, Dai, Jina, Zhang, Jianguang, Qu, Haoran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 21.04.2025
• ISSN: 0361-073X; 1096-4657; 1096-4657
• DOI: 10.1080/0361073X.2025.2488191

The evidence of the benefits of Tai Chi Chuan on cognitive functions, aerobic capacity and mood states of older adults remain unclear. A cross-sectional study was designed to explore the potential effects of Tai Chi Chuan on these aspects. A total of 50 older adults were divided into the Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) (  = 17), aerobic exercise (AEE) (  = 17), and sedentary lifestyle (SL) (  = 16) groups. Differences in P3 amplitude, P3 latency, reaction time, maximal oxygen uptake (VO max) and mood states were observed. The reaction time of the subjects in the TCC group was significantly shorter than that in the SL group (  < .05). Meanwhile, the VO max of the subjects in the TCC and AEE groups was significantly higher than that in the SL group (  < .001). The P3 amplitude of the subjects in the TCC group was significantly higher than that in the SL group (  < .01). Higher P3 amplitude and shorter latency were found among the subjects in the TCC group compared with those in the SL group (  < .05). In addition, the P3 amplitudes of the subjects at the Cz and Pz sites were significantly correlated with reaction time and VO max. The results of the mood states test indicated that TCC improves positive mood and suppresses negative mood among older adults. The findings suggest that TCC may provide superior benefits for the cognitive functions and psychology of older adults compared with aerobic exercises.