By MidLyfe Editor: New research, just published suggests that brisk walking, running and biking in midlife may be linked to better brain health in later life.

This important study, published in the journal Neurology, found that the more moderate-to-vigorous intensity was key. Physical activity from middle age through to later life, showed they were less likely to develop brain damage 25 years later.

The researchers believe from results that physical activity may have a protective effect on the brain, and most importantly brain health could reduce the risk of developing conditions such as dementia.

And we are not talking about heavy gym workouts every day here.

Dr Priya Palta, Assistant Professor of Medical Science at Columbia University Irving Medical Centre in New York City said:

“Our study suggests that getting at least an hour and 15 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity a week or more during midlife may be important throughout your lifetime for promoting brain health and preserving the actual structure of your brain,”

“In particular, engaging in more than two and a half hours of physical activity per week in middle age was associated with fewer signs of brain disease.”

 

The researchers asked the 1,604 participants to report their weekly amount of moderate-to-vigorous activity at the start of the study, and then twice more at later times. The researchers classified them into groups as none, low, middle or high.

Just as importantly, this study focused on people with an average age of 53, who attended five physical examinations over 25 years.

At the end of the study, the researchers looked for lesions, or areas of injury or disease in the participants’ brains, and measured the participants’ grey and white brain matter in MRI brain scans.

And the results were really quite stunning. After adjusting for demographics and lifestyle factors, people who reported no moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity in midlife were 47 per cent more likely to develop small areas of brain damage than people who reported high levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity.

Dr Palta again:

“Our results show that staying active during midlife may have real brain benefits. In particular, consistently high levels of midlife moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity were associated with fewer brain lesions in later life.”

One limitation of the study that the authors mentioned was that it relied on participants reporting their own physical activity, which could, of course, be inaccurate.

Dr Sara Imarisio, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK said that:

“This research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting exercise as an important way we can look after our brain health”

“Just a third of people think it’s possible to reduce their risk of developing dementia, compared to 77 per cent who believe they can reduce their risk of heart disease.

“While there is no sure-fire risk way to prevent dementia, our brains don’t operate in isolation from the rest of our bodies and a good rule of thumb for everyone is that what is good for your heart is also good for your brain.

“The best current evidence suggests that as well as staying physically and mentally active, eating a healthy balanced diet, not smoking, drinking only within the recommended limits and keeping weight, cholesterol and blood pressure in check are all good ways to support a healthy brain as we age.”

 

This research feeds directly into another study published here at the MidLyfe Project. According to this landmark study – there is now strong evidence that a healthy heart in middle age lowers the risk of developing dementia later in life.

This is something we have been saying here at the MidLyfe Project – there are keys to building a good midlife and beyond. It’s about basic discipline, like cleaning the house. Invest some time in doing as Dr Imarisio says because it will pay dividends straight away and then in the future.