Boosting Brain Health: Embrace Short, Intense Physical Activity
Rapid Exercise: Even as Short as Five Minutes Can Preserve Brain Health
As we grow older, our brains undergo changes that can lead to cognitive issues like memory problems. This happens due to shrinkage of the brain, reduced production of neurotransmitters like dopamine, and loss of structural connections. Fortunately, there are ways to help maintain brain health in your golden years, including engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activities.
A groundbreaking study suggests that devoting as little as 5 minutes a day to such activities could help keep your brain functioning optimally. By adopting this simple lifestyle habit, older adults can experience improved processing speed, working memory, and executive function.
According to Audrey M. Collins, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the AdventHealth Research Institute in Florida, engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activities like jogging, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, playing tennis, or dancing can help counteract age- and disease-related cognitive decline. The co-lead author of a study recently published in the journal Age and Ageing, she highlights that our brains have the capacity for plasticity throughout adulthood, provided we make the right choices.
Lifestyle Factors: Brain Health Depends on More Than Just Physical Exercise
For this study, researchers analyzed data from 585 older adults aged 65 to 80 who participated in the U.S.-based IGNITE study. They explored the relationship between a person's activities over a 24-hour period, including sleeping, sedentary time, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and their cognitive performance.
Collins explains that in the past, scientific research often approached sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity as separate entities. However, she emphasizes that these lifestyle behaviors are closely linked—they occur within the 24-hour day and can affect each other.
The Power of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity: More is Better
Upon concluding the study, Collins and her team found that participants who spent more time during the day performing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity had significantly enhanced processing speed, working memory, and executive function compared to those who spent less time. This finding applies to all domains of cognitive function, but the improvement may not be uniform across all domains.
Small increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, as little as 5 minutes a day, can offer significant cognitive benefits, particularly for those who were previously inactive. In other words, reallocating time for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity could potentially bolster cognitive performance, regardless of which lifestyle behavior the time was reallocated from.
Embrace an Active Lifestyle for a Healthier Brain
Maintaining an active lifestyle is crucial for preserving cognitive function as we age. Exercise may improve brain health by increasing production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that stimulates the growth and maintenance of neurons in the brain, and enhancing peripheral oxygen transport, which helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to brain cells.
While researchers plan to investigate the long-term effects of daily physical activity on brain health and potential 24-hour guidelines for public health and dementia prevention, it's clear that engaging in even brief periods of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity offers significant cognitive benefits for older adults. So, lace up your sneakers and make time for a brisk walk, jog, bike ride, or dance session—your brain will thank you!
- The shrinkage of the brain, reduced production of neurotransmitters, and loss of structural connections in aging can lead to cognitive issues like memory problems.
- Engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activities can help counteract age- and disease-related cognitive decline.
- Activities such as jogging, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, playing tennis, or dancing fall under moderate-to-vigorous physical activities.
- The brains of older adults have the capacity for plasticity throughout adulthood, and adopting a lifestyle that includes moderate-to-vigorous physical activities can play a role in that.
- Small increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, as little as 5 minutes a day, can provide significant cognitive benefits, especially for those who were previously inactive.
