UAH App Aims to Be the First to Combine Mental and Physical Training for Older Adults

University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) researchers have developed an app that aspires to be the first integrating mental and physical training for older men and women, reports WHNT News 19 . The mobile Physical Activity Training (mPACT) app combines brain training games like memory with low-impact physical activity like chair exercises. The app is currently undergoing testing in Huntsville under a grant from the American Nurses Foundation. "Once we get through with our research, and we find out that it does improve cognition . . . then we will offer it in the app store for free," said UAH Professor Lenora Smith. Fifty participants are now wearing Fitbit devices to read their heart rates as they use mPACT, which boasts larger print type and will eventually include social media functions.