This Simple Habit Improves Cognitive Health and Makes Your Brain Act Younger
A new study suggests that there is a simple action middle-aged adults can take every day to improve their brainpower and restore cognitive health to the extent that their brain functions as though it were several years younger.
Adults become concerned about their cognitive health as they age and begin to experience forgetfulness. While some forgetfulness is considered a normal part of aging, adults may worry about developing dementia. Anxiety often arises when they cannot recall everyday details, like a password, the name of a book they’ve read recently, or a routine they have done countless times.
Multiple studies have found that physical exercise is a great way to boost brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia over the long term. However, a study by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine discovered that everyday low-intensity movements, like walking the dog or doing household chores, can improve brain health in the short term. Not only that, but the study found that light-intensity movements can help the brain function as if it were four years younger.
“You don’t have to go to the gym to experience all the potential benefits of physical activity,” Jonathan Hakun, assistant professor of neurology at Penn State College of Medicine and of psychology at Penn State College of the Liberal Arts, said in a statement about the study. “All movement is important. Everyday movement counts as a source of accumulated physical activity that could be credited toward a healthy lifestyle and may have some direct impact on cognitive health.”
While previous research has typically focused on the long-term relationship between physical activity and cognitive health, Hakun said he wanted to understand the short-term impact of physical activity on cognitive health.
So, the Penn State College of Medicine research team analyzed data from 204 participants aged 40 to 65 who had no history of cognitive impairment and lived in the Bronx, New York, according to the study published in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine. The participants were involved in the Multicultural Healthy Diet Study to Reduce Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s Risk.
During their research, the Penn State team used a method known as an ecological momentary assessment. In this approach, participants use smartphones, tablets, or other devices to continually report their current behavior or experiences in real time. The researchers used cell phones to keep in touch with the study participants.
Over the course of nine days, participants checked in with researchers six times a day, approximately every 3.5 hours, to report their levels of physical activity since the last check-in. Participants who had been physically active were asked to rate the intensity of their activity as light, moderate, or vigorous. For example, the researchers considered walking and cleaning as light intensity, while running, fast biking, and “effortful” hiking were considered as vigorous intensity.
In addition to reporting their activity, the participants were asked to play a brain game that assessed working memory and a brain game that assessed cognitive processing speed. According to the study, participants who were physically active in the past 3.5 hours showed improvements in processing speed, equivalent to being four years younger. The team did not see improvements in working memory—the capacity to retain information for a brief period of time in order to do something with it. However, the response time during the working memory task mirrored the improvements seen in processing speed.
“We get slower as we age, both physically and cognitively,” Hakun said. “The idea here is that we can momentarily counteract that through movement. It’s compelling. There’s the potential for a brief walk or a little extra movement to give you a boost.”
The team also found that participants who reported higher levels of activity enjoyed more short-term benefits than those who reported lower physical activity overall. Hakun said this suggests that cognitive health benefits may increase with regular physical activity. However, Hakun believes additional research is necessary to understand how the amount of physical activity, as well as the frequency and timing of the activity, affects cognitive health.
Hakun also said that future studies may include combining ecological momentary assessments with activity monitoring tools to more effectively track the relationship between observed physical activity, behavior, and cognitive outcomes.
He also hopes to collect data over a longer period to see how daily physical activity affects cognitive health over time compared to normal aging.
Source Links:
https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/neuroscience-says-this-simple-habit-improves-cognitive-health-and-makes-your-brain-act-younger/91019683
https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/can-everyday-physical-activity-improve-cognitive-health-middle-age#