Constant Exercise Can Slow Memory Loss

All those sets, all those reps, all those miles. Ah, you are truly building a strong, healthy and beautiful?brain. Brain!?!?

Well, yes. Although hitting the gym may not confer automatic admission to the Mensa Society, there is a growing body of evidence that indicates consistent exercises can prevent those mind and memory declines often associated with aging and perhaps even engender some improvements. For many of you, this may not be an issue of immediate concern, but any investments made now should pay dividends in the future.

?Exercise will not make you smarter, but it does appear to reduce the rate of cognitive decline and seems to be associated with some improvements on cognitive tests, such as learning,? said Carl. W. Cotman, Ph. D, of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, and the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine.

Profound Positive Effects
Researchers from the University of Illinois have presented evidence gathered from a review of scientific literature to members of the American Psychological Association at the group?s annual meeting. In the paper, to be published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers noted that the most profound positive effects of exercise were seen in the area know as ?executive control,? which includes such abilities as planning, scheduling, working memory, and multi-tasking. ?Interestingly, these are many of the processes that show substantial age-related decline,? researchers wrote.

In addition, ?the effects of fitness training were larger when programs of aerobic training were combined with stretch and flexibility training.

?Combinations of different treatment protocols may engender both more varied brain changes and serve to further reduce age-associated cardiovascular and muscular-skeletal disorders,? researchers noted.

Scientists initially believed that exercise enhanced brain function by maintaining and improving blood flow to that area. The Illinois researchers verified this somewhat, pointing to a study that showed people aged 62-70-years-old who continued to work and/or exercise demonstrated sustained levels of cerebral blood flow and superior performance on measures of cognition compared to a group of inactive retirees.

Crucial to Brain Health
While that may be true, more recent studies have indicated a positive effect of exercise on the production and release of certain chemicals that are crucial to brain health. Among the most recent findings:

1. Researchers now feel that exercise may improve the release of a chemical known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF), which helps keep nerve cells healthy. Essentially, your brain cells are stacked lengthwise along pathways of your body. Each has an opening called the ?synapse,? over which nerve messages must negotiate. As we age, activity between the synapses decreases, causing connection problems that result in impaired activity. BNDF is thought to improve that transmission.
2. ?It has been well established that exercises increases BDNF levels in the hippocampus,? the Illinois researchers observed, ?and that aged brains are also responsive to exercise-induced BDNF expression in the hippocampus.? The hippocampus is a portion of the brain involved with the limbic system, a group of related nervous-system structures associated with emotions and feelings.
3. Another key player may be insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which plays a key role in the growth and differentiation of neurons in the brain. IGF-1 levels have been observed to increase in both the brain and its periphery after exercise. In addition, IGF-1 may help in the creation of BDNF. And both may contribute to a controversial process called ?neurogenesis,? which is the creation of new brain cells. Although promising, research in this area is still in the early stages.

More Reasons to Move
Among the other specific findings of the Illinois research review:

1. People who exercised at least 15-30 minutes at a time, three times per week were less likely to suffer Alzheimer?s even if they had a genetic predisposition.
2. Adults who participated in a regular walking program performed better than sedentary controls on in a study that tested the able to focus and concentrate on a single object and ignore irrelevant distractions that surrounded it.
3. Older adults who participated in a regular aerobics program showed a significant increase in brain ?gray matter? volume as measured by magnetic imaging compared to controls who did not.
4. People who participated twice weekly in leisure time physical activity in middle age were shown to be at a reduced risk of dementia in later life.

?Although more intervention research is needed,? researchers concluded, ?it appears that the benefits of physical exercise or physical activities promotes brain and cognitive vitality well into older adulthood.?

Author: Frank Claps MEd, CSCS | More great articles like this are featured on CurvesComplete.com