5 Ways Pilates May Help Support Brain Health

In one small study by Adams and her colleagues, dance students who practiced Pilates scored higher on measures of mindfulness — such as the ability to act with awareness rather than on “automatic pilot” — than those who did not. Those increases in mindfulness were linked with lower stress, better mood and more confidence in tackling difficult tasks, according to the study, published in 2013 in the Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices.

In more recent research with 129 adults ages 18 to 50+, those who did Pilates workouts five times weekly scored higher on mindfulness, self-compassion and life satisfaction than those who did them twice weekly. That study was published in 2022 in the Journal of Educational and Social Research.

2. Pilates could make you stronger — in body and brain.

Pilates is a form of strength training, and that kind of exercise, though less studied than aerobic exercise, has been associated with positive brain changes. For example, an Australian study of 100 adults 55 and up with mild cognitive impairment found that participants who did strength training for six months saw improved cognition and less shrinkage in parts of the brain’s key memory center, the hippocampus, over the following 12 months, compared with those who did different training regimens. The study was published in 2020 in NeuroImage: Clinical.

Another study looked at a version of Pilates you’re unlikely to find in your local studio. A group of 22 women ages 53 to 83 did brain-training tasks — simple math and verbal exercises — while they did Pilates exercises. The study, published in 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that the combo boosted memory and verbal skills, even as it strengthened legs and improved balance. Such combo programs might be more effective for these outcomes than physical or mental exercise alone, the researchers reported.

3. Pilates could improve your posture — and your attitude.

One goal of Pilates is to improve posture by strengthening core muscles, including those in the abdomen and back. It also makes students more aware of body alignment as they move through their exercises and their daily routines.

Better posture can produce physical benefits, such as less back and shoulder pain, but it may also support a good mood and help us feel less stressed, some studies suggest.

Good posture is an obvious confidence builder, Adams says. “It is literally being open and standing on two feet and standing strong.”

4. It is a chance to learn new things.

If you are new to Pilates, your brain will reap the benefits of learning new patterns of movement. “Any time you are learning something new that requires sustained effort, you are changing your brain” and increasing your cognitive flexibility, Bishop says.

Some devotees of mat-based Pilates do the same exercises — with names such as the Hundred, the Roll Up and the Roll Over — in the same order in every workout.

But with so many possible moves that can be performed on several different apparatuses (not only the Reformer, but pieces called the Wunda Chair, the Cadillac and the Ladder Barrel, among others), there’s no need to get into a Pilates rut, says Rebecca Quin, a senior lecturer in dance studies at Appalachian State. 

With the help of a good instructor, you should be able to keep “building and modifying and changing” your routine over time, benefiting body and brain, Quin says. “You may think you’ve mastered a move, and then the instructor will say, ‘Now let’s do it upside down and backward.’ ”

5. Pilates might help you sleep better.

“It has generally been proven that any kind of physical activity helps with ... sleep," Adams says. In one study reviewing randomized controlled trials of Pilates, yoga and traditional Chinese sports, all improved sleep, but Pilates showed the largest improvement in sleep quality versus those who did not exercise. She speculates that Pilates may engage the body and brain in ways that “help clear our head noise to let us lie down and sleep.”