Even Small Amounts of High Intensity Exercise Slow Brain Aging

The value of lower levels of physical activity has been one of the major themes of the past twenty years of research into the effects of exercise on long-term health. The advent of low-cost wearable accelerometer devices has enabled researchers to rigorously quantify differences for lesser amounts of physical activity, in order to get a much better look at the lower end of the dose-response curve for exercise. That leads to studies such as the one noted here, in which researchers assess the impact of small amounts of high intensity exercise on brain aging.

Endurance training and good fitness can reduce the risk of dementia and promote healthy brain aging. Even small amounts of physical activity may be enough to protect the aging brain, researchers recently concluded. A new paper evaluated evidence from both animal and human studies, and shows how physical activity affects inflammation, blood flow, immune function, brain plasticity and the release of protective molecules in the blood - processes that weaken with age and contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases.

Today, the recommendation is at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of high intensity per week. The researchers point out that exercising much less than what the current recommendations recommend can provide great benefits - as long as the intensity of the training is high. "We believe it's time for health authorities to provide clearer advice on how important exercise is for the brain. Our review shows that even small doses of high-intensity activity - equivalent to brisk walking where you can't sing - can reduce the risk of dementia by up to 40 per cent."

Link: https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2025/04/exercise-helps-improve-how-our-brain-ages/

Comments

I would assert that Researchers defining high intensity exercise as 'brisk walking where you can not sing" is contributing to the inactivity problem.

Posted by: JohnD at May 12th, 2025 1:37 PM
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