Aerobic Exercise Rejuvenates Brain
Scientists found that following a year-long aerobic workout program can make your brain "measurably younger" and lower dementia risk. The guideline-based routine showed cognitive benefits beyond the physical rewards of staying active.
- The research was led by Dr. Lu Wan, a data scientist at the AdventHealth Research Institute, and was published in the *Journal of Sport and Health Science*. - The year-long clinical trial involved 130 healthy adults between the ages of 26 and 58 who were randomly assigned to either an exercise group or a control group that made no changes to their activity levels. - Participants in the exercise group engaged in moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity for about 150 minutes per week, which included two supervised 60-minute sessions and additional home-based workouts. - The exercise regimen included activities like walking or running on a treadmill, and using equipment such as stationary bikes, elliptical machines, and rowers, with an intensity goal of 60% to 75% of their heart rate reserve. - "Brain age" was determined using MRI scans to calculate a biomarker known as the brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD), which compares the brain's appearance to a person's actual age. - After one year, the exercise group's brain-PAD decreased by an average of 0.6 years, while the control group's brains appeared about 0.35 years older, resulting in a nearly one-year difference in brain aging between the groups. - Researchers were surprised to find that the brain-rejuvenating effects could not be statistically explained by typical health improvements like changes in fitness, body composition, or blood pressure, suggesting more complex mechanisms are at work. - Broader research reinforces these findings, suggesting that regular physical activity can reduce dementia risk by up to 20% and that some exercise programs can even reverse age-related shrinkage in the brain's memory center.
