Regular aerobic exercise over 12 months changes your brain into a younger version of itself, researchers have found.
Adults who committed to 150 minutes of weekly, medium to vigorous physical activity during the study had brains that appeared almost one year younger than other study participants who did not change their level of activity.
The study, using MRI, looked at how old the brain appears compared to a person's actual age.
Previous studies have found this measure can predict weaker physical and cognitive performance and higher risk of death.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, is published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254625000602?via%3Dihub
"We found that a simple, guideline-based exercise program can make the brain look measurably younger over just 12 months," said Dr. Lu Wan, lead author and data scientist at the AdventHealth Research Institute.
"Many people worry about how to protect their brain health as they age. Studies like this offer hopeful guidance grounded in everyday habits.
These absolute changes were modest, but even a one-year shift in brain age could matter over the course of decades."
Those in the exercise group completed two supervised 60-minute workout sessions each week in a laboratory and added home-based exercise to reach roughly 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. This schedule matched the physical activity guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Researchers measured brain structure using MRI scans and assessed cardiorespiratory fitness through peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) at the start of the study and again after 12 months.
The exercise group showed a decrease in brain age while the non-exercise groups showed an increase, netting a 12 month gain for the exercisers.
Remarkably, the brain improvement in the exercise group did not appear attributable to changes in body composition, blood pressure or other factors which were measured as part of the research.
"We expected improvements in fitness or blood pressure to account for the effect, but they didn’t, Dr. Wan said.
“Exercise may be acting through additional mechanisms we haven't captured yet, such as subtle changes in brain structure, inflammation, vascular health or other molecular factors.”
Senior author of the study, Dr. Kirk I. Erickson, said: "Intervening in the 30s, 40s and 50s gives us a head start. If we can slow brain aging before major problems appear, we may be able to delay or reduce the risk of later-life cognitive decline and dementia."
Image: generated by Microsoft CoPilot
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