Exercise and movement have been demonstrated to be very effective for
brain health.25
In my homepage blog, I review the many factors involved in cognitive
health and preventing dementia risk. In this blog, I review the impact of
exercise on the brain.
In a review of literature, the authors sought to examine the evidence
of the “cognitive neuroprotective effect of exercise.” The authors reported the
following: significant results with exercise and brain health including reduced
risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment, better cognitive scores in
those already with dementia, a positive association of aerobic exercise in
healthy adults and cognitive scores, a larger hippocampal volume and better
spatial memory in a randomized trial of seniors using aerobic exercise. Other
randomized trials in seniors showed attenuation of gray matter volume loss with
aerobic exercise. There were also cross-sectional studies to support the effect
of exercise on hippocampal and gray matter in seniors. Furthermore, functional
magnetic resonance imaging displayed improved connectivity after 6 to 12 months
of exercise. As if the above wasn’t enough, the authors continue on with more
support of exercise for the brain:
Animal
studies indicate that exercise facilitates neuroplasticity via a variety of
biomechanisms, with improved learning outcomes. Induction of brain neurotrophic
factors by exercise has been confirmed in multiple animal studies, with
indirect evidence for this process in humans. Besides a brain neuroprotective
effect, physical exercise may also attenuate cognitive decline via mitigation
of cerebrovascular risk, including the contribution of small vessel disease to
dementia. Exercise should not be overlooked as an important therapeutic
strategy.26
In an
analysis of literature, researchers reported that exercise has a protective
effect on aging and cognitive decline. They believed that more studies were
needed to determine preservation of function, yet it may be a matter of finding
better ways to measure how exercise impacts the brain beyond preservation. There
was actually an earlier study that demonstrated reduced mortality risk in Alzheimer’s
disease. 27
This was a population-based study of 357 New Yorkers sixty-five years or
older in which researchers prospectively assessed standard neurological and
neuropsychological evaluations (every ~1.5 years). The purpose was to determine
the association between physical activity (PA) and Alzheimer’s disease
progression risk. The researchers weighted in the effect of light, moderate,
and severe exercise. They found that during the approximate 5 year follow up,
those who were physically active had a lower mortality risk, even among those
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Adjusting for APOE genotype, smoking, other
diseases, and cognitive performance didn’t affect the association. The authors
concluded:
Exercise may affect not only risk for
AD but also subsequent disease duration: more PA is associated with prolonged
survival in AD.28
In a cross-sectional study in four U.S. states with 9,344 women 65 years
old or older, researchers sought to determine the association between physical
activity during lifespan and cognitive impairment. The authors found physical
activity was associated with lower prevalence of cognitive impairment, with
teenage activity most strongly associated with lower odds. Still, those who
became active later in life also had lower risk than the sedentary. 29
In the
National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS) level of exercise was measured at
baseline (1994) and cognitive impairment was compared at baseline and 5-10
years at follow up.
Results At
10-year follow-up, the number of different types of exercises performed was
inversely associated with the onset of cognitive impairment (p=0.002) as was
the number of exercise sessions lasting at least 20 minutes (p=0.007).
Conclusion Study
results from NLTCS data provide evidence supporting the potential for exercise
to lower the risk of dementia. 30
The Mayo
Clinic Study of Aging, a population-based-case-control study of 1,324
non-demented subjects completed a questionnaire on physical exercise. The
authors assessed frequency and intensity of physical exercise. Interestingly,
the authors only found a positive association with moderate intensity exercise.31
One study
with twenty-one subjects used a combination of training exercises in
coordination exercises and cognitive training. After 13 weeks, changes were
observed in connectivity in the visual cortex, premotor area, and cingulate
gyrus, supporting the impact on brain health. The authors concluded:
Premotor area and cingulate gyrus were
also affected. We can conclude that the constant challenge of unfamiliar
combinations of coordination tasks, combined with visual perception and working
memory demands, seems to induce brain plasticity expressed in enhanced
connectivity strength of brain regions due to coactivation.32
Now, click
here to read the continuation of my blog on Eating, Exercise, and Essential
Oils for Brain Health.
References:
25. Bergland
C. Why Is Physical Activity So Good for Your Brain? Exercise improves the
structure, function, and connectivity of your brain. Psychology Today. Sep 22,
2014.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201409/why-is-physical-activity-so-good-your-brain
26. Ahlskog
JE, Geda YE, Graff-Radford NR, Petersen RC. Physical Exercise as a Preventive
or Disease-Modifying Treatment of Dementia and Brain Aging. Mayo Clinic
Proceedings. 2011;86(9):876-884. doi:10.4065/mcp.2011.0252.
27. Duzel E,
van Praag H, Sendtner M. Can physical exercise in old age improve memory and
hippocampal function? Brain. 2016;139(3):662-673. doi:10.1093/brain/awv407.
28. Scarmeas
N, Luchsinger JA, Brickman AM, et al. Physical Activity and Alzheimer’s disease
course. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for
Geriatric Psychiatry. 2011;19(5):471-481. doi:10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181eb00a9.
29. Middleton
LE, Barnes DE, Lui L-Y, Yaffe K. Physical Activity Over the Life Course and its
Association with Cognitive Performance and Impairment in Old Age. Journal of
the American Geriatrics Society. 2010;58(7):1322-1326.
doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02903.x.
30. Jedrziewski
MK, Ewbank DC, Wang H, Trojanowski JQ. Exercise and cognition: Results from the
National Long Term Care Survey. Alzheimer’s & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. 2010;6(6):448-455.
doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2010.02.004.
31. Geda YE,
Roberts RO, Knopman DS, et al. Physical Exercise and Mild Cognitive Impairment:
A Population-Based Study. Archives of neurology. 2010;67(1):80-86.
doi:10.1001/archneurol.2009.297.
32. Demirakca
T, Cardinale V, Dehn S, Ruf M, Ende G. The Exercising Brain: Changes in
Functional Connectivity Induced by an Integrated Multimodal Cognitive and
Whole-Body Coordination Training. Neural Plasticity. 2016;2016:8240894.
doi:10.1155/2016/8240894.