Exercise is a tonic for the brain as we age

Margaret Jennings discovers that older adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week.

Do you get a sinking feeling when you struggle mid conversation to remember that place, whatsitsname, where you ate on your holidays, the one you wanted to recommend to a friend?

Or feel a jolt of anxiety when you then take the next step in your imagination — the fear you might not remember even more stuff, as you age?

As we adjust to not being as sharp as in our younger years, we tend to compensate by finding other ways to remember like making lists, or taking home a card for that restaurant you wanted to recommend.

However, increasingly, research is pointing to the benefits of exercising regularly as we age, to help brain function and memory.

And although we may be busy challenging our brains on our mobile devices or doing the daily newspaper crossword, if we are sitting, we could well be lessening some of that positive impact.

Current research is usually based around cognitive decline, dementia or Alzheimers, and although results are from a small number of studies and a direct link can’t be made yet around prevention of memory loss and exercise, one thing is sure: being physical activity can only do your brain good.

One such study which featured last month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests for instance, that pumping up your muscles might also pump up your brain function. The research carried out in the University of Sydney, Australia, featuring people aged 55 to 86.

As we age past 50, muscle declines more rapidly and regular weight-bearing exercises can help manage that wastage and in the process contribute to our general physical wellbeing.

However, the 100 participants in this study, who all had mild memory and cognitive impairment showed a significant improvement in their mental functioning after they did supervised weight training at a high intensity, twice a week, for six months.

The researchers suggested that the positive impact on the participants lasted for at least a year after the weight sessions ended.

The benefits that regular physical activity offers to our overall wellbeing, as we age, are of course well documented.

In his book Sod 60! The Guide to Living Well British health service expert, Muir Gray says in 2015 the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges were so bowled over by the weight of evidence of the benefit of 30 minutes of “sweaty, puffy exercise” five times a week, that they published a report about it called Exercise — The Miracle Cure.

In the report they suggested exercising at the recommended level, reduces the risk of developing dementia by up to 30%. They also said regular exercise reduces your risk of breast cancer by up to 25%; bowel cancer by 45%; having a stroke by 30% and the risk of heart disease by over 40%.

“Considering how common these conditions are, in people aged over 65 and above, the staggering benefits of exercise become clear,” says Muir. “And it’s not unreasonable to think that getting active will make you biologically younger. The evidence suggests that is exactly what happens,” he says.

And of course if our body is healthier, our brain follows suit. The scientists and researchers at Trinity College Dublin who have set up the website Hello Brain to encourage us to lead a brain-healthy lifestyle, say that being physically active “is like drinking a tonic for your brain”.

“When you start exercising, blood rushes around your body, including your brain. Never one to miss an opportunity, your brain takes advantage of this added oxygen and nutrients and refreshes itself, building new neurons and connections. This builds your brain reserves, backup funds for a rainy day, such as when damage occurs.”

The World Health Organisation says to reduce cognitive decline, older adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week, or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity weekly or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity activity.

Aerobic activity should be performed in bouts of at least 10 minutes and for extra health benefits, we should increase our moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes per week.

In keeping with the earlier research, saying the benefits of resistance training to memory, the WHO also recommends we do muscle-strengthening activities, involving major muscle groups, on two or more days a week.

The Hello Brain website say exercising three times per week was linked with 38% reduced risk of developing dementia over six years, in a study of over 65s.

Another investigation found physical activity in older adults with known cognitive impairment reduced the risk of dementia by 28%.

“If a little pill could do this, it would fly off the shelves,” they say.

Check out Hello Brain at www.hellobrain.eu/en/