MINI REVIEW article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Rehabilitation in Neurological Conditions
The Effectiveness of Respiratory Training as a Preventive Strategy Against Cognitive Decline: Α mini review
Theodoros Zekis
Eirini Grammatopoulou
Dimitrios Tsimouris
Vasiliki Sakellari
Irini Patsaki
University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
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Abstract
Cognitive decline and dementia represent a growing global health burden, particularly among older adults and populations with cardiopulmonary and vascular risk factors. While physical exercise has been shown to exert protective effects on cognition, the role of respiratory muscle training (RMT) remains unclear. The aim of this review was to investigate the effects of RMT on cognitive function and cognitive decline. Respiratory muscle training has been implemented in older adults with elevated blood pressure, post–COVID-19 patients, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). There is only preliminary evidence regarding the effectiveness of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on cognitive function, with only one study reporting statistically significant between-group differences (i.e., respiratory muscle training vs. control) in specific cognitive domains. Although respiratory muscle training appears to be a potentially promising intervention for improving cognitive function, the current evidence is limited. Further well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to draw definitive conclusions regarding its preventive role in cognitive decline and dementia.
Summary
Keywords
Aging, Cognition, Dementia, Inspiratory muscle training, Respiratory muscle training
Received
31 December 2025
Accepted
09 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Zekis, Grammatopoulou, Tsimouris, Sakellari and Patsaki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Irini Patsaki
Disclaimer
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