research on physical activity and brain health

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• Published: 05 March 2019

Physical activity and muscle–brain crosstalk

• Bente Klarlund Pedersen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6508-6288 1  

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume  15 ,  pages 383–392 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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• Molecular medicine
• Type 2 diabetes

Neurological and mental illnesses account for a considerable proportion of the global burden of disease. Exercise has many beneficial effects on brain health, contributing to decreased risks of dementia, depression and stress, and it has a role in restoring and maintaining cognitive function and metabolic control. The fact that exercise is sensed by the brain suggests that muscle-induced peripheral factors enable direct crosstalk between muscle and brain function. Muscle secretes myokines that contribute to the regulation of hippocampal function. Evidence is accumulating that the myokine cathepsin B passes through the blood–brain barrier to enhance brain-derived neurotrophic factor production and hence neurogenesis, memory and learning. Exercise increases neuronal gene expression of FNDC5 (which encodes the PGC1α-dependent myokine FNDC5), which can likewise contribute to increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels. Serum levels of the prototype myokine, IL-6, increase with exercise and might contribute to the suppression of central mechanisms of feeding. Exercise also increases the PGC1α-dependent muscular expression of kynurenine aminotransferase enzymes, which induces a beneficial shift in the balance between the neurotoxic kynurenine and the neuroprotective kynurenic acid, thereby reducing depression-like symptoms. Myokine signalling, other muscular factors and exercise-induced hepatokines and adipokines are implicated in mediating the exercise-induced beneficial impact on neurogenesis, cognitive function, appetite and metabolism, thus supporting the existence of a muscle–brain endocrine loop.

Exercise can indirectly be sensed by the brain via adipose tissue (adiponectin) or the liver (fibroblast growth factor 21 and insulin-like growth factor 1).

Myokines mediate muscle–organ crosstalk to the liver, gut, pancreas, adipose tissue, bone, vascular bed, skin and brain.

Cathepsin B is an exercise-induced myokine required for exercise-induced improvement in memory and adult neurogenesis.

Exercise enhances neuronal gene expression of FNDC5 , the protein product of which might stimulate brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus.

Serum levels of the myokine IL-6 increase with exercise, and this myokine might regulate central mechanisms for food intake.

Exercise increases muscular expression of kynurenine aminotransferases, which convert blood levels of neurotoxic kynurenine to the neuroprotective kynurenic acid, thereby reducing depression-like symptoms.

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Acknowledgements

The Centre for Physical Activity Research (CFAS) is supported by a grant from TrygFonden. The author also thanks Alzheimer-forskningsfonden for support.

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Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.

Any activity with an energy expenditure of ≥3 metabolic equivalents (for example, brisk walking); the WHO minimum recommendations are 150 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week (or 20 min or 10,000 steps on most days of the week) for adults and 60 min of active playing on most days of the week for children and adolescents.

Exercise involving dynamic movements and large muscle groups that predominantly rely on aerobic metabolism for fuelling muscle contractions; examples include jogging, running, swimming and rowing.

Movement performed against a specific external force that is regularly increased during training; examples include weightlifting and exercises using resistance machines.

A subset of physical activity that is planned, structured and repetitive and has a final or intermediate objective of improving or maintaining physical fitness. The terms ‘exercise’ and ‘exercise training’ are used interchangeably to refer to the cardiovascular adaptations produced by this specific type of physical activity; a single bout of exercise is referred to as ‘acute exercise’.

Cytokines or peptides produced by skeletal muscle cells and subsequently released into the circulation, where they exert autocrine, paracrine or endocrine effects in other cells, tissues or organs.

Browning can be defined as any substantial increase in the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) at the mRNA level occurring in what is normally considered as a white adipose tissue depot. The resulting brown adipocytes that express UCP1 and appear in white adipose tissue are referred to as beige, brite, convertible, ectopic, inducible or recruitable.

Derived from the Greek sarx (‘flesh’) and penia (‘loss’), sarcopenia is the age-induced loss of muscle mass and function that typically manifests as reduced gait speed.

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January 1, 2020

10 min read

Why Your Brain Needs Exercise

The evolutionary history of humans explains why physical activity is important for brain health

By David A. Raichlen , Gene E. Alexander &

Violet Frances

I n the 1990s researchers announced a series of discoveries that would upend a bedrock tenet of neuroscience. For decades the mature brain was understood to be incapable of growing new neurons. Once an individual reached adulthood, the thinking went, the brain began losing neurons rather than gaining them. But evidence was building that the adult brain could, in fact, generate new neurons. In one particularly striking experiment with mice, scientists found that simply running on a wheel led to the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus, a brain structure that is associated with memory. Since then, other studies have established that exercise also has positive effects on the brains of humans, especially as we age, and that it may even help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. But the research raised a key question: Why does exercise affect the brain at all?

Physical activity improves the function of many organ systems in the body, but the effects are usually linked to better athletic performance. For example, when you walk or run, your muscles demand more oxygen, and over time your cardiovascular system responds by increasing the size of the heart and building new blood vessels. The cardiovascular changes are primarily a response to the physical challenges of exercise, which can enhance endurance. But what challenge elicits a response from the brain?

Answering this question requires that we rethink our views of exercise. People often consider walking and running to be activities that the body is able to perform on autopilot. But research carried out in recent decades by us and others would indicate that this folk wisdom is wrong. Instead exercise seems to be as much a cognitive activity as a physical one. In fact, this link between physical activity and brain health may trace back millions of years to the origin of hallmark traits of humankind. If we can better understand why and how exercise engages the brain, perhaps we can leverage the relevant physiological pathways to design novel exercise routines that will boost people's cognition as they age—work that we have begun to undertake.

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Flexing the Brain

To explore why exercise benefits the brain, we need to first consider which aspects of brain structure and cognition seem most responsive to it. When researchers led by Fred Gage and Henriette Van Praag, both then at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., showed in the 1990s that running increased the birth of new hippocampal neurons in mice, they noted that this process appeared to be tied to the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is produced throughout the body and in the brain, and it promotes both the growth and the survival of nascent neurons. The Salk group and others went on to demonstrate that exercise-induced neurogenesis is associated with improved performance on memory-related tasks in rodents. The results of these studies were striking because atrophy of the hippocampus is widely linked to memory difficulties during healthy human aging and occurs to a greater extent in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. The findings in rodents provided an initial glimpse of how exercise could counter this decline.

Following up on this work in animals, researchers carried out a series of investigations that determined that in humans, just like in rodents, aerobic exercise leads to the production of BDNF and augments the structure—that is, the size and connectivity—of key areas of the brain, including the hippocampus. In a randomized trial conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Kirk Erickson (now at the University of Pittsburgh) and Arthur Kramer, 12 months of aerobic exercise led to an increase in BDNF levels, an increase in the size of the hippocampus and improvements in memory in older adults.

Other investigators have found associations between exercise and the hippocampus in a variety of observational studies. In our own study of more than 7,000 middle-aged to older adults in the U.K., published in 2019 in Brain Imaging and Behavior , we demonstrated that people who spent more time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity had larger hippocampal volumes. Although it was not possible for us to say whether these effects in humans are related to neurogenesis or other forms of brain plasticity, such as increasing connections among existing neurons, together the results clearly indicated that exercise can benefit the brain's hippocampus and its cognitive functions.

Researchers have also documented clear links between aerobic exercise and benefits to other parts of the brain, including expansion of the prefrontal cortex, which sits just behind the forehead. Such augmentation of this region has been tied to sharper executive cognitive functions, which involve aspects of planning, decision-making and multitasking—abilities that, like memory, tend to decline with healthy aging and are further degraded in the presence of Alzheimer's. Scientists suspect that increased connections between existing neurons, rather than the birth of new neurons, are responsible for the beneficial effects of exercise on the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions outside the hippocampus.

Upright and Active

With mounting evidence that aerobic exercise can boost brain health, especially in older adults, the next step was to figure out exactly what cognitive challenges physical activity poses that trigger this adaptive response. We began to think that examining the evolutionary relation between the brain and the body might be a good place to start. Hominins (the group that includes modern humans and our close extinct relatives) split from the lineage leading to our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, between six million and seven million years ago. In that time, hominins evolved a number of anatomical and behavioral adaptations that distinguish us from other primates. We think two of these evolutionary changes in particular bound exercise to brain function in ways that people can make use of today.

Credit: Tami Tolpa

First, our ancestors shifted from walking on all fours to walking upright on just their hind legs. This bipedal posture means that there are times when our bodies are precariously balanced over one foot rather than two or more limbs like in other apes. To accomplish this task, our brains must coordinate a great deal of information and, in the process, make adjustments to muscle activity throughout the body to maintain our balance. While coordinating these actions, we must also watch out for any environmental obstacles. In other words, simply because we are bipedal, our brains may be more cognitively challenged than those of our quadrupedal ancestors.

Second, the hominin way of life changed to incorporate higher levels of aerobic activity. Fossil evidence indicates that in the early stages of human evolution, our ancestors were probably relatively sedentary bipedal apes who ate mainly plants. By some two million years ago, however, as habitats dried out under a cooling climate, at least one group of ancestral humans began to forage in a new way, hunting animals and gathering plant foods. Hunting and gathering dominated human subsistence strategies for nearly two million years until the advent of farming and herding around 10,000 years ago. With Herman Pontzer of Duke University and Brian Wood of the University of California, Los Angeles, we have shown that because of the long distances traversed in search of food, hunting and gathering involves much more aerobic activity than seen in other apes.

Increased demands on the brain accompanied this shift toward a more physically active routine. When out foraging afar, hunter-gatherers must survey their surroundings to make sure they know where they are. This kind of spatial navigation relies on the hippocampus, the same brain region that benefits from exercise and that tends to atrophy as we get older. In addition, they have to scan the landscape for signs of food, using sensory information from their visual and auditory systems. They must remember where they have been before and when certain kinds of food were available. The brain uses this information from both short- and long-term memory, allowing people to make decisions and plan their routes—cognitive tasks that are supported by the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, among other regions. Hunter-gatherers also often forage in groups, in which case they may have conversations while their brains are maintaining their balance and keeping them spatially located in their environment. All of this multitasking is controlled, in part, by the prefrontal cortex, which also tends to diminish with age.

Although any foraging animal must navigate and figure out where to find food, hunter-gatherers have to perform these functions during fast-paced treks that can extend over more than 20 kilometers. At high speeds, multitasking becomes even more difficult and requires faster information processing. From an evolutionary perspective, it would make sense to have a brain ready to respond to an array of challenges during and after foraging to maximize the chances of success in finding food. But the physiological resources required to build and maintain such a brain—including those that support the birth and survival of new neurons—cost the body energy, meaning that if we do not regularly make use of this system, we are likely to lose these benefits.

This evolutionary neuroscience perspective on exercise and the brain, which we detailed in an article published in 2017 in Trends in Neurosciences , has profound implications for humans today. In our modern society, we do not need to engage in aerobic physical activity to find food for survival. The brain atrophy and attendant cognitive declines that commonly occur during aging may be partly related to our sedentary habits.

But simply exercising more may not realize the full potential of physical activity for keeping brain decline at bay. Indeed, our model suggests that even people who already get a lot of aerobic activity may want to rethink their routines. It is possible that we might not always exercise in ways that take full advantage of our evolved mechanisms for sustaining brain performance.

Think about the ways in which many of us get our aerobic exercise. Often we go to gyms and use a stationary exercise machine; the most cognitively demanding task in such a workout might be deciding what channel to watch on the built-in television. What is more, these machines remove some of the demands of maintaining balance and adjusting speed, among many other intrinsic cognitive challenges of movement through a changing environment.

What if this form of exercise is shortchanging us? Our ancestors evolved in an unpredictable world. What if we could modify our exercise routines to include cognitive challenges like those faced by our hunter-gatherer forebears? If we can augment the effects of exercise by including a cognitively demanding activity, then perhaps we can increase the efficacy of exercise regimens aimed at boosting cognition during aging and potentially even alter the course of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Move and Think

In fact, a growing body of research suggests that exercise that is cognitively stimulating may indeed benefit the brain more than exercise that does not make such cognitive demands. For example, Gerd Kempermann and his colleagues at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden in Germany explored this possibility by comparing the growth and survival of new neurons in the mouse hippocampus after exercise alone or after exercise combined with access to a cognitively enriched environment. They found an additive effect: exercise alone was good for the hippocampus, but combining physical activity with cognitive demands in a stimulating environment was even better, leading to even more new neurons. Using the brain during and after exercise seemed to trigger enhanced neuron survival.

We and others have begun to extend these studies from animals to humans—with encouraging results. For example, researchers have explored combining exercise and cognitive challenges in individuals experiencing notable cognitive decline. Cay Anderson-Hanley of Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., has tested simultaneous exercise and cognitive interventions in people with mild cognitive impairment, a condition associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's. More work certainly needs to be done in populations such as this one before we can draw any firm conclusions, but the results so far suggest that people who are already experiencing some cognitive decline may benefit from exercising while playing a mentally demanding video game. In studies of healthy adults, Anderson-Hanley and her colleagues have also shown that simultaneously exercising and playing a cognitively challenging video game may elicit a greater increase in circulating BDNF than exercise alone. These findings further bolster the idea that BDNF is instrumental in bringing about exercise-induced brain benefits.

In our own work, we have developed a game designed to specifically challenge aspects of cognition that tend to decline with age and that are probably needed during foraging. In the game, players spatially navigate and complete attention and memory tasks while cycling at a moderate aerobic intensity level. To evaluate the potential of this approach to boost cognitive performance in healthy older adults, we compared a group exercising while playing the game with a group exercising without the game, a group playing the game without exercising, and a control group that only watches nature videos. We have seen some promising results.

Many other research groups have tested combinations of exercise and cognitive tasks. In the near future, we will probably have a better idea of how best to deploy them to support and enhance cognition in both healthy individuals and those experiencing disease-related cognitive decline.

In addition to specially designed interventions similar to the ones described here, it is possible that participation in sports that require combinations of cognitive and aerobic tasks may be a way to activate these brain benefits. For example, we showed that collegiate cross-country runners who train extensively on outdoor trails have increased connectivity among brain regions associated with executive cognitive functions compared with healthy but more sedentary young adults. Future work will help us understand whether these benefits are also greater than those seen in runners who train in less complex settings—on a treadmill, for instance.

Much remains to be discovered. Although it is still too early to make specific prescriptions for combining exercise and cognitive tasks, we can say with certainty that exercise is a key player in preserving brain function as we age. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines suggest that people should engage in aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes a week at a moderate intensity or at least 75 minutes a week at a vigorous intensity (or an equivalent combination of the two). Meeting or exceeding these exercise recommendations is good for the body and may improve brain health.

Clinical trials will tell us much more about the efficacy of cognitively engaged exercise—what kinds of mental and physical activities are most impactful, for example, and the optimal intensity and duration of exercise for augmenting cognition. But in light of the evidence we have so far, we believe that with continued careful research we can target physiological pathways linking the brain and the body and exploit our brain's evolved adaptive capacity for exercise-induced plasticity during aging. In the end, working out both the body and the brain during exercise may help keep the mind sharp for life.

David A. Raichlen is a professor of biological sciences and director of the Evolutionary Biology of Physical Activity Laboratory at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on the biomechanics and physiology of exercise from an evolutionary perspective.

Gene E. Alexander is a professor of psychology and director of the Brain Imaging, Behavior and Aging Laboratory at the University of Arizona. He studies the aging brain in both healthy adults and those suffering from neurodegenerative disease.

Is exercise really good for the brain? Here’s what the science says

Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Senior Researcher, Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Université de Genève

Disclosure statement

Matthieu P. Boisgontier is a Principal Investigator at the Bruyère Research Institute (BRI) in Ottawa, a member and former co-chair of the Society for Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology (STORK), Editor-in-Chief of Communications in Kinesiology (CiK), a member of Peer Community In (PCI) and founder of PCI Health & Movement Sciences. He has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Banting Research Foundation (BRF), Mitacs and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

Boris Cheval is supported by an Ambizione grant (PZ00P1_180040) from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

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The health benefits of physical activity are undeniable.

Yet, a recent study based on data published over the past 30 years challenges the famous adage Mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) and questions the importance of exercise for both brain health and cognition.

A few days after that study was published, our team of health and neuroscience researchers released the results of our study of over a quarter million people. Our results clearly support the beneficial effects of both moderate and vigorous physical activity on cognitive functioning, fuelling an important scientific debate.

Who is right and who is wrong? Here’s what the science says.

Is physical exercise useless for cognitive functioning?

The first study was published on March 27, 2023. It is a review of 24 meta-analyses that re-examines data from 11,266 healthy people using a more rigorous approach.

Although almost all of the 24 meta-analyses included in this review concluded that exercise had a positive effect on cognitive function, the authors argue that the analyses performed were suboptimal. For example, they point out that both baseline levels of physical activity and the tendency of the scientific community to publish only significant results were rarely taken into consideration. Once these adjustments were made, the authors found results suggesting that the benefits of exercise are actually smaller than those estimated in the previous meta-analyses, and may even be negligible.

Based on these findings, the authors argue that public health agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) should no longer state that physical activity improves cognitive health, academic performance, and executive function , “at least until more reliable scientific evidence accumulates.”

Well, that evidence didn’t take long to arrive.

Genetics and DNA to the rescue

The second study , ours, is a genetic study involving nearly 350,000 people, published four days later, on March 31, 2023. Our results provide scientific evidence for the cognitive benefits of moderate and vigorous physical activity.

This evidence is based on the two-sample Mendelian randomization method, which takes advantage of the random variations in our DNA that occur at conception, before we are even born.

When any two humans are compared, 99.9 per cent of their genetic material is identical. DNA can be thought of as a long chain of building bricks, called nucleotides, that varies once every 1,000 bricks between these two humans. There are four types of randomly arranged bricks: thymine, adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Genetic variations can result in, for example, a cytosine brick in one place in one person’s DNA and a thymine brick in the same place in another.

The first sample in our study, consisting of 91,084 people, was used to identify genetic variations associated with differences in physical activity, as measured by wrist-worn motion sensors .

The second sample in our study, consisting of 257,854 people, was used to test whether the genetic variations associated with physical activity had a proportional effect on cognitive functioning. Since this was the case, we were able to conclude that there is a causal effect of physical activity on cognitive function.

Moderate exercise goes a long way

In our study, we show that physical activity improves cognitive functioning, but more importantly, that the effect of moderate physical activity (brisk walking, cycling) is 1.5 times greater than that of vigorous physical activity (running, playing basketball). This finding highlights that we do not need to push ourselves to the point of exhaustion to get cognitive benefits from exercise.

When all types of physical activity were considered together (including sedentary and light physical activity), our results no longer showed an effect on cognitive function. This finding confirms the importance of achieving at least moderate intensities to reap the cognitive benefits of physical activity.

Our results are consistent with those of a recent study that emphasizes the importance of exercise duration and intensity for the release of a protein called BDNF in the brain. This protein is involved in the creation of new neurons, new connections between these neurons, and new blood vessels to feed them.

This protein, whose production increases during exercise, is therefore one of the physiological mechanisms that explains the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognitive function. The very existence of this explanatory mechanism further strengthens the results supporting a beneficial effect of exercise on brain functioning.

It’s never too late to get started

Several differences may explain the discrepancy in results between the review of meta-analyses and our genetics-based study.

First, the review looks only at healthy people, which is not the case in our study. Second, our study distinguishes between light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity, whereas the review does not make this distinction. Finally, our genetic approach evaluates long-term effects, over a lifetime, whereas the review is based on interventions lasting between one month and two years.

As we are dealing with the temporal aspects of physical activity here, it is important to remember that it is never too late to start exercising. In fact, a 2019 study showed that starting to be active late in life has the same overall positive health effects as being active throughout life.

Conclusion: Hasty decisions are never good

Based on our findings, it appears that physical activity can still be considered beneficial for brain health and cognition. Moreover, in the current socio-political climate of mistrust of science, we should not jump to conclusions on the basis of a single study that contradicts years of research, yet is based on the very same data.

As is often the case in science, it is wiser not to make hasty decisions but to wait for additional studies before suggesting changes to physical activity guidelines. The accumulation of converging evidence from different research teams should be a prerequisite for changing public health messages. As this article shows, we are nowhere near that point, and the benefits of physical activity on a wide range of physical and mental health outcomes remain undeniable.

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The Impact of Exercise on Brain Health and Preservation

By  Carly Smith, BS, MPH(c)  

The foundation of longevity science exists in a balance of healthy physical, mental, and emotional aging. In the past, researchers have studied these aspects of health as independent subjects, but now scientists emphasize that every aspect of our health is intertwined. One of the major motivations behind the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine movement is to increase awareness of how total health is dependent upon the interactions between the pillars of our lives. 

Recently, members of the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine team collaborated to conduct a systematic review of existing research on “The Role of Physical Exercise in Cognitive Preservation.” The article, which was published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, responds to a call for more scientific investigations to focus on the prevention of cognitive disabilities associated with old age, such as dementia. 

“After conducting this review, a major takeaway is that we should be motivated beyond physical improvements to continue moving our bodies to promote long-term cognitive benefits,” says Matthew Kaufman, MD, lead author of the review article.

Exercise and the Brain

Both aerobic exercise and strength training are widely researched lifestyle interventions for quality health improvement.The US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) recommends weekly exercise of at least ​​150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and two days of strength training for improving physical and mental health. 

There are multiple proposed mechanisms that define how regular physical activity combats cognitive decay. As you exercise, your heart increases the amount of blood that it pumps out to the rest of the body to compensate for the increased workload. This increase in cardiac output also increases cerebral blood flow, which is linked to heightened neural activity and reduced oxidative stress (or an improved ability to detoxify agents in the body). Another proposed mechanism is the increase in trophic factors (proteins that aid cell survival and growth), such as BDNF, VEGF, and IGF-1 . These trophic factors support neuroplasticity (the structural reorganization of the brain to support learning) and angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels). Therefore, it is reasonable to promote exercise as a lifelong tool for optimizing brain health.

“It is important to understand the physiology of this relationship in order to maximize exercise regimens for prolonged cognitive benefits and goal setting,” says Dr. Kaufman, current Stanford Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident.   

Key Takeaways from the Systematic Review

After reviewing over 1,600 total studies, 17 met the team’s final criteria for further analytical evaluation. To be included in the final review, studies must have been a randomized controlled trial published after 2000, excluded cognitive impairments more severe than moderate diagnoses, and included at least one physical activity intervention that lasted for 12 weeks or more and followed the USDHHS recommended guidelines. For this review, both aerobic exercise and strength training were included as exercise interventions. The final 17 studies selected for “qualitative synthesis” looked at the relationships of exercise and global cognition, exercise and memory, and exercise and executive function. 

The review team found the largest consensus in the research for improvements in memory for individuals with moderate, mild, or no cognitive impairments following the 12-week exercise interventions. For individuals with mild cognitive impairments, exercise was shown to improve cognition. Although weaker, there was also evidence found for relationships between regular exercise and improved global cognition and executive functioning. Some studies also found significant associations between improvements in physical and cognitive fitness and increases in regional brain volume or blood flow. 

However, included studies that analyzed the lasting effects of exercise following the study indicated a need for continued exercise. Improvements in memory and cognitive health were not always maintained once regular exercise stopped. This suggests the importance of exercise as a long-term principle of lifestyle medicine for adequate prevention of late-stage diseases. 

“Given that our review demonstrates that people did not see lasting benefits after stopping their exercise, the importance of routine exercise to continue reaping benefits is suggested,” says Dr. Kaufman. “It also strengthens our association that exercise interventions can, in fact, improve cognition.”

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How Exercise Strengthens Your Brain

Physical activity improves cognitive and mental health in all sorts of ways. Here’s why, and how to reap the benefits.

By Dana G. Smith

Growing up in the Netherlands, Henriette van Praag had always been active, playing sports and riding her bike to school every day. Then, in the late-1990s, while working as a staff scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, she discovered that exercise can spur the growth of new brain cells in mature mice. After that, her approach to exercise changed.

“I started to take it more seriously,” said Dr. van Praag, now an associate professor of biomedical science at Florida Atlantic University. Today, that involves doing CrossFit and running five or six miles several days a week.

Whether exercise can cause new neurons to grow in adult humans — a feat previously thought impossible, and a tantalizing prospect to treat neurodegenerative diseases — is still up for debate . But even if it’s not possible, physical activity is excellent for your brain, improving mood and cognition through “a plethora” of cellular changes, Dr. van Praag said.

What are some of the benefits, specifically?

Exercise offers short-term boosts in cognition. Studies show that immediately after a bout of physical activity, people perform better on tests of working memory and other executive functions . This may be in part because movement increases the release of neurotransmitters in the brain, most notably epinephrine and norepinephrine.

“These kinds of molecules are needed for paying attention to information,” said Marc Roig, an associate professor in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University. Attention is essential for working memory and executive functioning, he added.

The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin are also released with exercise, which is thought to be a main reason people often feel so good after going for a run or a long bike ride.

The brain benefits really start to emerge, though, when we work out consistently over time. Studies show that people who work out several times a week have higher cognitive test scores, on average, than people who are more sedentary. Other research has found that a person’s cognition tends to improve after participating in a new aerobic exercise program for several months.

Dr. Roig added the caveat that the effects on cognition aren’t huge, and not everyone improves to the same degree. “You cannot acquire a super memory just because you exercised,” he said.

Physical activity also benefits mood . People who work out regularly report having better mental health than people who are sedentary. And exercise programs can be effective at treating people’s depression, leading some psychiatrists and therapists to prescribe physical activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week is a good benchmark.

Perhaps most remarkable, exercise offers protection against neurodegenerative diseases. “Physical activity is one of the health behaviors that’s shown to be the most beneficial for cognitive function and reducing risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia,” said Michelle Voss, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Iowa.

How does exercise do all that?

It starts with the muscles. When we work out, they release molecules that travel through the blood up to the brain. Some, like a hormone called irisin, have “neuroprotective” qualities and have been shown to be linked to the cognitive health benefits of exercise, said Christiane Wrann, an associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School who studies irisin . (Dr. Wrann is also a consultant for a pharmaceutical company, Aevum Therapeutics, hoping to harness irisin’s effects into a drug.)

Good blood flow is essential to obtain the benefits of physical activity. And conveniently, exercise improves circulation and stimulates the growth of new blood vessels in the brain. “It’s not just that there’s increased blood flow,” Dr. Voss said. “It’s that there’s a greater chance, then, for signaling molecules that are coming from the muscle to get delivered to the brain.”

Once these signals are in the brain, other chemicals are released locally. The star of the show is a hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or B.D.N.F., that is essential for neuron health and creating new connections — called synapses — between neurons. “It’s like a fertilizer for brain cells to recover from damage,” Dr. Voss said. “And also for synapses on nerve cells to connect with each other and sustain those connections.”

A greater number of blood vessels and connections between neurons can actually increase the size of different brain areas. This effect is especially noticeable in older adults because it can offset the loss of brain volume that happens with age. The hippocampus, an area important for memory and mood, is particularly affected. “We know that it shrinks with age,” Dr. Roig said. “And we know that if we exercise regularly, we can prevent this decline.”

Exercise’s effect on the hippocampus may be one way it helps protect against Alzheimer’s disease, which is associated with significant changes to that part of the brain. The same goes for depression; the hippocampus is smaller in people who are depressed, and effective treatments for depression , including medications and exercise, increase the size of the region.

What kind of exercise is best for your brain?

The experts emphasized that any exercise is good, and the type of activity doesn’t seem to matter, though most of the research has involved aerobic exercise. But, they added, higher-intensity workouts do appear to confer a bigger benefit for the brain.

Improving your overall cardiovascular fitness level also appears to be key. “It’s dose-dependent,” Dr. Wrann said. “The more you can improve your cardiorespiratory fitness, the better the benefits are.”

Like Dr. van Praag, Dr. Voss has incorporated her research into her life, making a concerted effort to engage in higher intensity exercise. For example, on busy days when she can’t fit in a full workout, she’ll seek out hills to bike up on her commute to work. “Even if it’s a little,” she said, “it’s still better than nothing.”

Dana G. Smith is a Times reporter covering personal health, particularly aging and brain health. More about Dana G. Smith

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Benefits of Physical Activity

Obesity and Excess Weight Increase Risk of Severe Illness; Racial and Ethnic Disparities Persist

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Immediate Benefits

Weight management, reduce your health risk, strengthen your bones and muscles, improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls, increase your chances of living longer, manage chronic health conditions & disabilities.

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Being physically active can improve your brain health , help manage weight , reduce the risk of disease , strengthen bones and muscles , and improve your ability to do everyday activities .

Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain some health benefits. Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity.

Everyone can experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

Some benefits of physical activity on brain health [PDF-14.4MB] happen right after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition for children 6 to 13 years of age and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.

Both eating patterns and physical activity routines play a critical role in weight management. You gain weight when you consume more calories through eating and drinking than the amount of calories you burn , including those burned during physical activity.

To maintain your weight:  Work your way up to 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity, which could include dancing or yard work. You could achieve the goal of 150 minutes a week with 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

People vary greatly in how much physical activity they need for weight management. You may need to be more active than others to reach or maintain a healthy weight.

To lose weight and keep it off: You will need a high amount of physical activity unless you also adjust your eating patterns and reduce the amount of calories you’re eating and drinking. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight requires both regular physical activity and healthy eating.

See more information about:

• Getting started with weight loss .
• Getting started with physical activity .
• Improving your eating patterns .

Learn more about the health benefits of physical activity  for children, adults, and adults age 65 and older.

See these tips  on getting started.

The good news [PDF-14.5MB]  is that  moderate physical activity , such as brisk walking, is generally  safe for most people .

Cardiovascular Disease

Heart disease and stroke are two leading causes of death in the United States. Getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity can put you at a lower risk for these diseases. You can reduce your risk even further with more physical activity. Regular physical activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.

Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes  and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. People start to see benefits at levels from physical activity even without meeting the recommendations for 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity. Additional amounts of physical activity seem to lower risk even more.

Infectious Diseases

Physical activity may help reduce the risk of serious outcomes from infectious diseases, including COVID-19, the flu, and pneumonia. For example:

• People who do little or no physical activity are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 than those who are physically active. A CDC systematic review [PDF-931KB] found that physical activity is associated with a decrease in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, while inactivity increases that risk.
• People who are more active may be less likely to die from flu or pneumonia. A CDC study found that adults who meet the aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines are about half as likely to die from flu and pneumonia as adults who meet neither guideline.

Some Cancers

Being physically active lowers your risk for developing several common cancers .  Adults who participate in greater amounts of physical activity have reduced risks of developing cancers of the:

• Colon (proximal and distal)
• Endometrium
• Esophagus (adenocarcinoma)
• Stomach (cardia and non-cardia adenocarcinoma)

If you are a cancer survivor, getting regular physical activity  not only helps give you a better quality of life, but also improves your physical fitness.

Learn more about Physical Activity and Cancer

As you age, it’s important to protect your bones, joints, and muscles – they support your body and help you move. Keeping bones, joints, and muscles healthy can help ensure that you’re able to do your daily activities and be physically active.

Muscle-strengthening activities like lifting weights can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength. This is important for older adults who experience reduced muscle mass and muscle strength with aging. Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions you do as part of muscle strengthening activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age.

Everyday activities include climbing stairs, grocery shopping, or playing with your grandchildren. Being unable to do everyday activities is called a functional limitation. Physically active middle-aged or older adults have a lower risk of functional limitations than people who are inactive.

For older adults, doing a variety of physical activity improves physical function and decreases the risk of falls or injury from a fall . Include physical activities such as aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance training. Multicomponent physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting as part of a structured program.

Hip fracture is a serious health condition that can result from a fall. Breaking a hip have life-changing negative effects, especially if you’re an older adult. Physically active people have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people.

See physical activity recommendations for different groups, including:

• Children age 3-5 .
• Children and adolescents age 6-17 .
• Adults age 18-64 .
• Adults 65 and older .
• Adults with chronic health conditions and disabilities .
• Healthy pregnant and postpartum women .

An estimated 110,000 deaths  per year could be prevented if US adults ages 40 and older increased their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by a small amount. Even 10 minutes more a day would make a difference.

Taking more steps a day also helps lower the risk of premature death from all causes. For adults younger than 60, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. For adults 60 and older, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.

Regular physical activity can help people manage existing chronic conditions and disabilities. For example, regular physical activity can:

• Reduce pain and improve function, mood, and quality of life for adults with arthritis.
• Help control blood sugar levels and lower risk of heart disease and nerve damage for people with type 2 diabetes.
• Health Benefits Associated with Physical Activity for People with Chronic Conditions and Disabilities [PDF-14.4MB]
• Key Recommendations for Adults with Chronic Conditions and Disabilities [PDF-14.4MB]

Active People, Healthy Nation SM is a CDC initiative to help people be more physically active.

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The explosion of new research on the interplay between exercise and circadian rhythms

Scientists are uncovering the far-reaching influence of physical activity on our circadian rhythms. They believe the emerging findings have implications both for health and athletic performance.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

When you work out impacts how you sleep, as NPR's Will Stone reports.

WILL STONE, BYLINE: Don't worry, science is not coming after your favorite workout time - at least, not yet - because so far, there's no real consensus about the best time to work out. Katja Lamia, a circadian biologist at Scripps Research, says there's one thing that's absolutely clear.

KATJA LAMIA: Truly, I think the best time to exercise is whenever you're actually going to do it.

STONE: When to work out is actually not at all a straightforward question. Who's exercising? What are you doing?

LAMIA: Definitely depends on what your goals are.

STONE: There is consistent evidence that athletic performance, including strength, peaks in the afternoon. This is when world records tend to be broken. But Raphael Knaier says the existing research is still limited and mostly focuses on young men, so it's hard to generalize. Knaier is an exercise physiologist at the University of Basel.

RAPHAEL KNAIER: The afternoon is the best time on average over a certain population - does not mean that it's the best time for every individual.

STONE: In fact, in one study he did measuring strength and time of day, he asked athletes when they thought their peak performance was.

KNAIER: And almost none of them guessed correctly.

STONE: Exercise timing isn't just relevant for elite competitors. Physical activity, while not as powerful as light, can also influence our circadian rhythms and help keep our body in tune. This extends beyond the central clock and the brain to the peripheral clocks that populate our tissues, from the liver to the heart to our muscles. Karyn Esser has focused on the interplay between muscle clocks and exercise. She's a physiologist at the University of Florida's College of Medicine.

KARYN ESSER: If we're healthy, our clocks are kind of all aligned. You know, they're all in the same time zone. And the problem arises when our clocks get out of phase. You know, the brain clock thinks it's here, and the liver and the pancreas think it's something else.

STONE: This circadian misalignment is linked to chronic diseases, and most of us know the crummy feeling of jetlag. Esser says the muscle clocks steer key functions related to energy and metabolism that fluctuate.

ESSER: It's really part of homeostasis or taking care of business in the cell.

STONE: Meaning it's telling your muscles when they should be primed to go and when they should rest and repair.

ESSER: There is a contribution of the muscle clocks to the muscle performance and to the athletic performance.

STONE: To what extent is hard to say. Research shows the muscle clocks are quite responsive to exercise, and they can adapt.

ESSER: What time those muscles are active actually talks to the muscle clock and helps adjust its phase independent of whatever it's getting from the central clock.

STONE: Of course, muscles aren't the only part of the body involved in exercise, and there are other variables, like whether you tend to be an early riser or late riser. Generally speaking, Esser says it's probably better if you aim to exercise around the same time every day. There's also growing interest in how exercise timing can unlock added health benefits, especially for certain medical conditions. This is what Juleen Zierath is focused on.

JULEEN ZIERATH: What we're trying to understand is how can you fine-tune the exercise prescription?

STONE: Zierath is a professor of physiology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. She studied the effect of high-intensity training in men with Type 2 diabetes and found an afternoon session improved their blood sugar.

ZIERATH: And surprisingly, when the men performed the exercise in the morning, these same men had a worsening of their blood glucose control.

STONE: She says it's still early days for this type of research, though. And ultimately, it seems like you can't go wrong with any exercise anytime.

Will Stone, NPR News.

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The causal relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior and brain cortical structure: a Mendelian randomization study

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Yulin Sun, Di Ma, Zhenping Jiang, Qifeng Han, Yining Liu, Guoyang Chen, The causal relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior and brain cortical structure: a Mendelian randomization study, Cerebral Cortex , Volume 34, Issue 4, April 2024, bhae119, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae119

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Physical activity and sedentary behavior, both distinct lifestyle behaviors associated with brain health, have an unclear potential relationship with brain cortical structure. This study aimed to determine the causal link between physical activity, sedentary behavior, and brain cortical structure (cortical surface area and thickness) through Mendelian randomization analysis. The inverse-variance weighted method was primarily utilized, accompanied by sensitivity analyses, to confirm the results’ robustness and accuracy. Analysis revealed nominally significant findings, indicating a potential positive influence of physical activity on cortical thickness in the bankssts ( β  = 0.002 mm, P  = 0.043) and the fusiform ( β  = 0.002 mm, P  = 0.018), and a potential negative association of sedentary behavior with cortical surface area in the caudal middle frontal ( β  = −34.181 mm 2 , P  = 0.038) and the pars opercularis ( β  = −33.069 mm 2 , P  = 0.002), alongside a nominally positive correlation with the cortical surface area of the inferior parietal ( β  = 58.332 mm 2 , P  = 0.035). Additionally, a nominally significant negative correlation was observed between sedentary behavior and cortical thickness in the paracentral ( β  = −0.014 mm, P  = 0.042). These findings offer insights into how lifestyle behaviors may influence brain cortical structures, advancing our understanding of their interaction with brain health.

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Regular physical activity linked to increased brain volumes in key areas associated with memory and learning

R esearchers have discovered a significant correlation between regular physical activity and increased brain volumes. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease , suggests that even moderate exercise could have a profound impact on brain health, particularly in areas vulnerable to aging and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

A growing body of evidence suggests a link between physical activity and brain health. With an aging global population and increasing rates of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, understanding how lifestyle factors like exercise can impact brain health is of paramount importance. Previous research had hinted at the protective effects of exercise on the brain, but there was a need for a more comprehensive analysis using advanced imaging techniques and a large participant base.

The study involved a large cohort of 10,125 participants, drawn from various locations including Vancouver, Redwood City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Boca Raton, and Dallas. This diverse participant pool was crucial for obtaining a broad and representative sample, encompassing a range of ages, genders, races, and ethnicities.

The core of the study’s methodology revolved around magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Participants underwent non-contrast whole body MRI scans using 1.5T whole body scanners from Philips and Siemens. These high-resolution scanners are capable of producing detailed images of the brain, essential for accurate volumetric analysis. The volumetric measurement of brain regions was conducted using FastSurfer, an advanced deep learning network. This technology is a breakthrough in the field of neuroimaging, as it allows for the rapid, automated analysis of structural MRIs.

Physical activity data were collected through self-reported questionnaires completed prior to imaging. The research team categorized physical activity intensity based on standard definitions from the Centers for Disease Control.

Moderate physical activity was defined as activities that increased heart rate and respiratory rate but still allowed for talking, such as brisk walking or bicycling at a leisurely pace. Vigorous physical activity, in contrast, was more strenuous and would not allow for speaking more than a few words without pausing for breath. The frequency of such activities was also recorded, with participants reporting the number of days they engaged in such activities over a 14-day period.

Larger Brain Volumes in Active Individuals

The researchers found that those who engaged in regular physical activity had significantly larger volumes of gray and white matter. Gray matter is crucial for processing information in the brain, while white matter facilitates the connection between different brain regions.

Study co-author Somayeh Meysami, an assistant professor at Saint John’s Cancer Institute and the Pacific Brain Health Center noted, “Our research links regular physical activity to larger brain volumes, suggesting neuroprotective benefits. This large sample study furthers our understanding of lifestyle factors in brain health and dementia prevention.”

Interestingly, the study highlighted that even moderate levels of physical activity, such as walking less than 4,000 steps a day, could positively impact brain health. This is a particularly important finding, as it suggests that the benefits of exercise on the brain are accessible even at lower, more achievable levels of physical activity for the general population.

“This research underscores the potential neuroprotective effects of exercise, opening new avenues in preventing neurodegenerative diseases,” explained lead author Cyrus A. Raji , an associate professor of radiology and a principal investigator in the Neuroimaging Labs Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Specifically, it demonstrates that even a low threshold of physical activity – as little as 25 minutes a week or 10 minutes a day for 2.5 days a week – correlates to larger brain volumes in this population of adults throughout the lifespan.”

“Physical activity regimens, especially using historic recommendations such as 150 minutes a week or 10,000 steps a day, can be difficult to establish and maintain. Personally, it takes me about 90 minutes to walk 10,000 steps alone – doable but not easy. Our work suggests that the brain health benefits of physical activity are potentially attainable with a time commitment and intensity of exercise much easier than previously thought.”

Effects on Areas Vulnerable to Alzheimer’s Disease

The study also focused on regions of the brain that are particularly vulnerable to neurodegeneration, such as those affected in Alzheimer’s disease. It was found that the physically active group had larger volumes in the hippocampus, posterior cingulate gyrus, and precuneus. These areas are essential for memory and cognitive function, and their increased volume in physically active individuals suggests a potential protective effect of exercise against age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases.

Given the established link between loss of brain volume and cognitive decline or dementia, these findings are particularly significant. They suggest that regular physical activity could be a key factor in maintaining brain volume and, by extension, protecting against cognitive decline and dementia. This aligns with previous research indicating the neuroprotective benefits of exercise and offers a non-pharmacological approach to dementia prevention.

“This study demonstrates the influence of exercise on brain health imaging and when added to other studies on the role of diet, stress reduction and social connection offer the proven benefits of drug-free modifiable factors in substantially reducing Alzheimer’s disease,” said George Perry, editor-in-chief of Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“With comprehensive imaging scans, our study underscores the interconnected synergy between the body and the brain. It echoes the knowledge of past generations, showcasing that increased physical activity is a predictor of a healthier aging brain,” added Rajpaul Attariwala, senior author of the paper.

Limitations and Future Research

Despite the study’s significant findings, there are limitations to consider. The cross-sectional design means that the data represents a snapshot in time, rather than tracking changes over a prolonged period. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported physical activity data introduces the potential for bias, as participants might not accurately remember or report their exercise habits. The study also did not account for a lifetime of physical activity, which could have a considerable impact on brain health.

Looking ahead, future research should aim to address these limitations. Longitudinal studies, tracking participants over time, would provide more definitive evidence of the long-term impacts of physical activity on brain health. Furthermore, objective measures of physical activity, such as wearable fitness trackers, could offer more precise data. Another important avenue of research is exploring the specific biological mechanisms through which exercise influences brain health, which could lead to targeted interventions for dementia prevention.

“This study is cross-sectional so future work should examine longitudinal factors,” Raji said.

The study, “ Exercise-Related Physical Activity Relates to Brain Volumes in 10,125 Individuals “, was authored by Cyrus A. Raji, Somayeh Meysami, Sam Hashemi, Saurabh Garg, Nasrin Akbari, Ahmed Gouda, Yosef Gavriel Chodakiewitz, Thanh Duc Nguyen, Kellyann Niotis, David A. Merrill, and Rajpaul Attariwala.

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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BRAIN HEALTH

T. liu-ambrose.

1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The GCBH convened to examine research focused on the impact of physical activity on brain health. Eight issue specialists representing four continents arrived at consensus statements to summarize the impact of physical activity on brain health: (1) Follow current public health recommendations of 150 minutes of weekly, moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two or more days a week of moderate-intensity, muscle-strengthening activities. In addition to purposeful exercise, lead a physically active lifestyle throughout the day. (2) Identify meaningful and enjoyable ways to increase and maintain physical activity. (3) Incorporate physical activity as a part of a healthy lifestyle to help reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and (4) When focusing on the impact of physical activity on brain health, stakeholders and policy makers should take into account the breadth of scientific evidence (i.e. animal studies, epidemiological studies, and randomized controlled trials) while recognizing the knowledge gaps.

How Exercise Helps Boost Your Memory-Brain Health as You Age

Regular exercise can help keep your brain happy and healthy.

As we age, many of us will notice that our memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. You may have trouble remembering where you left your keys or find it difficult to recall specific events. Still, although it may be common, age-related memory decline can be confronting and worrying.

Fortunately, regular exercise is one way to protect your memory and brain health. Below, we'll explore the science behind brain function, age and exercise, including the benefits of staying active and tips for starting a fitness routine to support healthy aging .

Understanding memory and brain health

Before we dive into the connection between memory and age, let's take a step back and look at the basics of how memory works . Any time you record a new memory (for example, learning a new skill), it changes the connections between neurons in your brain. These connections are known as synapses, forming networks in your brain. The more often you're exposed to a particular memory, the stronger these synapses will become – and the easier it will be to recall the memory. 

As an example, let's say you're learning how to knit. At first, when the synapses are weak, it might be challenging to remember exactly what you're supposed to do. With practice, the synapses will get stronger, and you won't have to work as hard to recall the steps.

It's normal to experience some degree of memory loss as you mature. Around 40% of people aged 65 and older have age-associated memory impairment , while 10% have mild cognitive impairment. Why does this happen? 

As people age, some parts of the brain get smaller and function less effectively than they used to. For example, the frontal lobe and hippocampus are associated with cognitive function. When these areas shrink, it may become harder to absorb new information or recall memories . 

While cognitive decline is often a normal part of aging,  medical and lifestyle factors  can contribute to memory loss. These include: 

• Head injuries, such as concussions
• Mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression
• Infections that impact the brain, such as tuberculosis
• Blood clots
• Alcohol, drug or tobacco use
• Lack of sleep
• Inadequate nutrient intake
• Medication side effects
• Traumatic life events or major changes

If you're concerned about your memory loss, reach out to your doctor to determine the cause and discuss treatment options. 

The science behind exercise and brain health

We all know that exercise is good for our physical health, but what does it do for our mental health and cognitive function ? Does exercise help with memory and brain health? In short, yes.

Research shows that regular exercise offers several advantages for your cognitive health, including sharpening your memory , improving your thinking skills, and reducing stress and anxiety . (We'll take a closer look at these benefits later on.)

How exactly does exercise improve brain function? Physical activity triggers a couple of changes within your body, including blood vessel growth and better blood flow to your brain, which may slow cognitive decline , decrease your risk of dementia , and help you store long-term memories . It also reduces the number of stress receptors in your hippocampus, lessening the impact of stress hormones on your brain and helping you deal with stress. 

On top of that, physical activity can increase your brain's neuroplasticity , making it easier for you to learn new things. There's even evidence that regular exercise can thicken your cerebral cortex and preserve the structural integrity of your brain's white matter – both of which are associated with cognitive function . 

Research has also identified a link between exercise and neurogenesis , or the formation of new neurons in the brain, which is vital for learning and memory. One group of researchers described physical activity as a "non-pharmacological (and sometimes enjoyable) strategy to delay the effects of both physiological aging and pathological neurodegeneration on brain health."

Benefits of exercise on memory and brain health

One of the main benefits of exercise for your memory and brain health is that it improves cognitive function and memory retention. One study found that inactive adults over the age of 45 were almost twice as likely to experience cognitive decline than active adults. Further research shows that following a moderate-intensity exercise routine can improve your memory and thinking skills in about six months.

There's also a reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease among people who exercise regularly. In one analysis of multiple studies on the subject, researchers concluded that physical activity decreases the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 45% and dementia by 28%. Even light physical activity – like grocery shopping or tidying up the house – can lower the likelihood of developing dementia. 

Exercise has multiple benefits for your mental health as well. For one, it's been proven to ease anxiety and reduce your risk of depression . Both anxiety and depression can lead to memory problems, so if you have either condition, you could use exercise to help with your symptoms and potentially prevent memory loss. Other research has found that physical activity can help boost your mood and self-esteem .

Regularly engaging in physical activity also improves your sleep quality and may help manage certain sleep disorders , such as insomnia . Getting enough sleep is important for retaining new information and making memories. When you're sleep-deprived, you may find it harder to concentrate , which can negatively affect your ability to create short-term and long-term memories.

Types of exercises that benefit memory and brain health

If you're hoping to boost your brain health through physical activity, a few types of exercises  can help. For starters, aerobic exercises (like running, swimming and cycling) play a role in "maintaining and enhancing central nervous system health and cognitive functioning in older adults," according to a study of people between the ages of 60 and 79. 

Aerobic exercise has also been connected to improved cognitive performance in people with Parkinson's disease. On top of that, elderly people with higher levels of aerobic fitness were shown to have larger hippocampal volume than less active individuals, which equates to enhanced memory function.

There's also evidence about strength training's impact on brain health, with research indicating that it can have long-term benefits in people with mild cognitive impairment. Plus, resistance training can boost cognitive and physical function in people with cognitive frailty (a combination of physical frailty and cognitive impairment). 

Another recent study signaled that resistance training could be useful in treating the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and helping manage the progression of the condition.

Even lower-intensity mind-body exercises can positively impact memory and brain health. For example, a study from 2023  found that older adults with mild cognitive impairment could improve their cognition (including working memory, attention, and executive function) by regularly practicing tai chi. 

Similarly, experts suggest that yoga might also boost brain health. In one study,  yoga practice demonstrated a positive impact  on several areas of the brain that are associated with age-related changes. In another study, yoga participants  showed improvement  in memory and depression. 

Incorporating exercise into your routine

By now, you know how much physical activity can enhance memory and brain health, so how do you get started with an exercise routine? The first step is finding a type of exercise that you enjoy so you're more inclined to stick with it. For example, if you find motivation from working out with other people, ask a friend to join you for a walk or sign up for a group fitness class. If you'd rather exercise alone, you could hit the gym for a solo swim or weight-lifting session .

As you're getting started, don't push yourself too hard, especially if you're new to exercise or returning from a long break. Over time, you can gradually build up your endurance and workout intensity.

Once you've figured out how you like to exercise, you can set goals. While it may be tempting to set one major goal (like losing 25 pounds, for example), it's also smart to create smaller goals along the way. For instance, you might aim to increase your running distance by a certain amount each week. Achieving these mini-milestones can make you feel more accomplished and motivated.

If you find it hard to stick to a workout regimen, it may help to add your exercise sessions to your calendar like you would do for any other event or appointment. Logging your physical activity in a fitness tracker can be a good motivational tool as well.

When it comes to your health, exercise is just one piece of the puzzle. To feel your best, it's important to follow a balanced diet that's rich in whole, unprocessed foods . Taking a daily multivitamin can help, too. Getting enough sleep is also essential for better workout performance and overall well-being.

Did you know that physical activity can protect you from chronic pain?

One of the reasons is that it increases your pain tolerance.

In 2023, researchers from UiT The Arctic University of Norway, the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN), and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health found that among more than 10,000 adults, those who were physically active had a higher pain tolerance than those who were sedentary; and the higher the activity level, the higher the pain tolerance.

After this finding, the researchers wanted to understand how physical activity could affect the chances of experiencing chronic pain several years later. And they wondered if this was related to how physical activity affects our ability to tolerate pain.

"We found that people who were more active in their free time had a lower chance of having various types of chronic pain 7-8 years later. For example, being just a little more active, such as going from light to moderate activity, was associated with a 5% lower risk of reporting some form of chronic pain later," says doctoral fellow Anders Årnes at UiT and UNN.

He is one of the researchers behind the study.

He adds that for severe chronic pain in several places in the body, higher activity was associated with a 16% reduced risk.

Measured cold pain tolerance

The researchers found that the ability to tolerate pain played a role in this apparent protective effect. That explains why being active could lower the risk of having severe chronic pain, whether or not it was widespread throughout the body.

"This suggests that physical activity increases our ability to tolerate pain and may be one of the ways in which activity helps to reduce the risk of severe chronic pain," says Årnes.

The researchers included almost 7,000 people in their study, recruited from the large Tromsø survey, which has collected data on people's health and lifestyle over decades.

After obtaining information about the participants' exercise habits during their free time, the researchers examined how well the same people handled cold pain in a laboratory. Later, they checked whether the participants experienced pain that lasted for 3 months or more, including pain that was located in several parts of the body or pain that was experienced as more severe.

Among the participants, 60% reported some form of chronic pain, but only 5% had severe pain in multiple parts of the body. Few people experienced more serious pain conditions.

The research was recently published in the journal PAIN -- Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain .

Pain and exercise

When it comes to exercising if you already have chronic pain, the researcher says:

"Physical activity is not dangerous in the first place, but people with chronic pain can benefit greatly from having an exercise program adapted to help them balance their effort so that it is not too much or too little. Healthcare professionals experienced in treating chronic pain conditions can often help with this. A rule of thumb is that there should be no worsening that persists over an extended period of time, but that certain reactions in the time after training can be expected."

• Pain Control
• Fibromyalgia
• Workplace Health
• Intelligence
• Brain Injury
• Chronic pain
• Opioid drug
• Tonsillitis
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease

Story Source:

Materials provided by UiT The Arctic University of Norway . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Anders Pedersen Årnes, Mats Kirkeby Fjeld, Hein Stigum, Christopher Sivert Nielsen, Audun Stubhaug, Aslak Johansen, Laila Arnesdatter Hopstock, Bente Morseth, Tom Wilsgaard, Ólöf Anna Steingrímsdóttir. Does pain tolerance mediate the effect of physical activity on chronic pain in the general population? The Tromsø Study . Pain , 2024; DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003209

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The gut-brain connection: elevating mental health and performance in sports and physical activity through imagery

Exploring the connections between imagery in sports and physical activity and the well-being of both the body and mind in relation to gut health is a new research area gaining in popularity. This interplay is crucial where peak performance requires the mind and body to be harmonious. Imagery techniques are powerful tools that athletes can tap into to optimize their gut-brain performance. Incorporating imagery techniques into training and performance routines is an accessible and low-cost psychological skills training technique.

Research ethics: Not applicable.

Informed consent: Not applicable.

Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.

Research funding: None declared.

Data availability: Not applicable.

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Journal and Issue

Articles in the same issue.

Does physical activity influence health behavior, mental health, and psychological resilience under the moderating role of quality of life?

Affiliations.

• 1 College of Physical Education, Hunan City University, Yiyang, China.
• 2 International Institutes of Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China.
• 3 College of Urban Transportation and Logistics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, China.
• PMID: 38529092
• PMCID: PMC10961448
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1349880

Background: Physical activity significantly influences health-related behaviors, encompassing physical and mental well-being. Physical activity has been linked to enhancing health behavior, mental health, and psychological resilience. The current study is based on participants who were active in physical activity to improve health and well-being.

Objectives: To examine the influences of physical activity on health behavior, mental health, and psychological resilience, considering the moderating role of quality of life.

Method: A thorough cross-sectional online survey was conducted from April 15, 2023, to October 15, 2023. The survey was comprehensive and lasted for six months. The online poll received more than one thousand responses under convenience sampling. The selection criteria for the study were above 21 years old, and participants were active in physical activity to improve health and well-being. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical SPSS-25 and SmartPLS 4.0 software to investigate the proposed research paradigm.

Results: SEM results of model 1 (direct coefficients) show that PA has a positive effect on HeB, MeH, PsR, HeB on MeH, HeB on PsR. Out of six (in model 2), four moderating effects of QOL were significant, and two were statistically insignificant.

Conclusion: It has been observed that the quality of life has a moderating role in the relationships between physical exercise and several aspects, such as psychological resilience, mental health, and health-related behavior. It is imperative to emphasize the importance of fostering consistent engagement in physical activity to cultivate a well-balanced and health-conscious way of life.

Keywords: enhancement; exercise; health functioning; relationship; structural equation modeling.

Copyright © 2024 Liu, Menhas and Saqib.

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