Effect of salat prayer and exercise on cognitive functioning of Hui Muslims aged sixty and over

• Rong Bai

  Shaanxi University of Technology

• Ping Ye

  Chengdu Sport University

• Caifang Zhu

  Yu Xin Yuan Psychological Counseling Center and Renmin University of China

• Wei Zhao

  Southwest University

• Jinfu Zhang

  Southwest University

We compared the cognitive functioning of Hui Muslims aged 60 and over who practiced salat prayer (SP) and/or did physical exercise (PE) with individuals in the same age group who did not engage in such practices. Our sample comprised 205 ethnic Hui Muslims aged between 60 and 86 years who completed the Scale of Cognitive Functioning in Older People (Hong, 1990) and it was found that those in the group of participants who practiced SP or did PE demonstrated a similar level of cognitive functioning which was better than that of individuals who neither exercised nor prayed regularly. SP may be considered as an alternative type of exercise for older Muslim adults who cannot do strenuous PE.

1. Rong Bai, Shaanxi University of Technology
   School of Education Science
2. Wei Zhao, Southwest University
   School of Foreign Languages
3. Jinfu Zhang, Southwest University
   School of Psychology and the Key Laboratory of Cognitionand Personality, Research Institute for Education and Psychology of Southwestern Ethnic Groups

• PDF
  (USD 29)