I know a lot of people who think exercise is a big waste of time. But, it turns out that you need more than just a good diet to keep your body working. And I’m talking about more than just your physical health. Exercise also seems to actually fortify your brain health.
We’re all worried about aging. But, we all try to do so as gracefully as possible. As it turns out, older adults with lower levels of fitness suffer from white matter deterioration at a higher rate. This can lead to memory loss, which suggests that exercise can help stave off things like dementia.
The Study
Researchers from the UT Southwestern Medical Center gathered fifty five older adults with mild cognitive impairment, also known as MCI. This means that these adults were starting to show memory problems. They also recruited twenty six older people with no signs of MCI. Then they used imaging techniques to study the white matter in their brains, and measured their fitness during a treadmill exercise.
The scientists also performed a series of tests to evaluate people’s mental skills used for everyday decision-making, problem solving, and planning and executing tasks. This is known as their Executive Function. Exectuvie function is different from memory, but both skill sets suffer in people with age related brain health issues.
Researchers found that older adults that had better cardiorespiratory fitness had less issues with brain health and deterioration of the white-matter fibers in their brain. This held true for both groups of people in the study, with or without existing brain health problems. Even controlled factors such as age, sex, and body mass index didn’t change the results.
The Result Regarding Brain Health
Really, these findings just show you that the age old hypothesis that keeping your fitness levels high protect the brain. The study authors write in their paper—even in people at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. “That’s exciting, because the field right now is challenging,” Zhang says. “Even though we suspect it, there hasn’t really been any conclusive evidence that exercise can have an impact on the development of dementia.”
Last year, the National Academies of Sciences reported that, despite advances in understanding dementia, the evidence on treatment and prevention interventions “remains relatively limited and has significant shortcomings.” The idea that increased physical activity may delay or slow age-related cognitive decline is supported by “encouraging but inconclusive evidence,” the report concluded.
Conclusion
In all honesty, there is really no reason not to keep your fitness levels up. This holds certainly true if you’re middle aged or higher. Experts even believe that maintaining physical fitness can help keep blood flowing normally to your brain tissue, reducing the risk of damage or deterioration.
And even though the study isn’t massively conclusive, it’s just another shove in the direction that concludes physical fitness is key in being able to enjoy your later years. But, I can’t force you to do anything. I’m just here to give you the information, and you can do with this what you will.
