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In a new study, people who followed a moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise routine for a year had a noticeable drop in brain age, while those who stuck to their usual fitness routine saw a slight increase.
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While still being explored, exercise seems to benefit the brain through a mix of vascular, molecular, metabolic, and anti-inflammatory effects.
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Experts say that a combination of aerobic exercise and strength training may provide the greatest overall benefit for brain health.
Your brain health and physical fitness may seem like totally different areas of wellness, but new research suggests they’re more closely linked than you’d think.
The Journal of Sport and Health Science study found that adults who followed a consistent aerobic exercise routine had significantly younger-looking brains compared to those who didn’t adjust their workouts. The results suggest that consistently doing plenty of cardio can do your cognitive wellbeing a solid over time.
What’s behind the connection? A neuroscientist and neurologist break it down.
Meet the experts: Kirk Erickson, PhD, is the study co-author and director of translational neuroscience and Mardian J. Blair endowed chair of Neuroscience at the AdventHealth Research Institute. Clifford Segil, DO, is a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
What did the study find?
Researchers recruited 130 healthy adults between the ages of 26 and 58 and randomly assigned them to two groups. Before the study, all participants reported doing fewer than 100 minutes per week of structured physical activity.
One group was asked to follow a moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise routine for a year, while the other group stuck with their usual fitness routine (and was provided information about the health benefits of exercise).
People in the exercise group were asked to do two supervised hour-long workout sessions each week in a lab along with extra workouts at home to hit 150 minutes of overall aerobic activity each week.
During the study, researchers measured brain structure with MRI scans (which allowed them to estimate a “brain age” for each participant) and checked participants’ cardiorespiratory fitness at the start of the study and after 12 months.
The researchers found that those in the exercise group had a noticeable drop in brain age, while those in the other group had a slight increase. When the researchers compared the two groups directly, they found that people in the exercise group had brains that looked about a year younger than the other group.
What does a younger brain look like?
On imaging tests, a “younger-looking” brain shows structural changes that reflect what brains look like in earlier adulthood, explains Kirk Erickson, PhD, study co-author, director of translational neuroscience and Mardian J. Blair endowed chair of Neuroscience at the AdventHealth Research Institute.
“These include smaller ventricles—the fluid-filled spaces in the brain—which tend to enlarge with age, clearer differentiation between gray and white matter, and minimal loss of overall brain tissue volume,” he says. “Preserved brain volume and structural integrity are key markers associated with healthier brain aging.”
Why might exercise help brains appear younger?
That’s still being explored. However, one factor may be that exercise increases blood flow all over your body, including to your brain, says Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. “This study noted activities which increase your heart rate and blood flow to your muscles also made their brains seem younger,” he says.
Physical activity increases the production of neurotrophic factors—molecules that support junctions between nerve cells, cell growth, and survival of nerve cells, Erickson says. That increased blood flow also means that more oxygen and nutrients are delivered to brain tissue, he adds.
“In addition, regular activity may help regulate inflammatory processes that can otherwise negatively affect brain function,” Erickson says. “Metabolic changes associated with exercise, such as improved glucose regulation and energy efficiency, may further support brain health.”
Overall, exercise seems to benefit the brain through a mix of vascular, molecular, metabolic, and anti-inflammatory effects, Erickson says.
What type of exercise is best for brain health?
This is still being investigated. “Current evidence suggests that a combination of aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, or swimming, and strength training may provide the greatest overall benefit for brain health,” Erickson says.
He points out that aerobic exercise is “strongly linked” to improvements in blood flow and cardiorespiratory fitness, while resistance training may support metabolic health and other systems that influence the brain. “However, more research is needed before we can confidently identify an optimal type, intensity, or duration of exercise specifically for brain outcomes,” Erickson says.
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