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EVERYONE KNOWS EXERCISE is good for you. Whether you’re taking a brisk walk around the block or grinding out at the gym, every movement counts. That being said, is there a decade in your life when exercise offers bonus benefits to the brain?
When it comes to keeping your brain sharp, scientists have calculated the exact age when exercise matters the most. The JAMA Network Open study published earlier this month has found prioritizing movement in a certain decade can significantly lower your risk of dementia.
What’s the special number? Read on to find out more.
When Exercise Protects You Against Dementia
Scientists have been looking at the effects of exercise on the body for several decades. The obvious conclusion is, yes exercising always helps. But exercise seems to preserve your cognition the most between your mid-forties to mid-sixties.
Researchers collected information on the physical activity of 4,354 people from the prestigious, long-running Framingham heart study to see how exercise affected their brain across each life stage. (The study started in 1948, but they enrolled a whole roster of new participants around 1971).
Over the course of the study, 567 people developed dementia. People who did higher levels of moderate or heavy activity in midlife—defined as ages 45 to 64—had a 40 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to their counterparts who weren’t physically active.
The researchers also saw a huge reason for people in midlife to continue exercising into their golden years. Those who kept exercising after 65 were 45 percent less likely of developing dementia compared to their sedentary peers.
“We used this approach in order to better understand at what times or points in a person’s life could physical activity have the most impact on reducing the risk of developing dementia, which may ultimately inform more precise and effective strategies to prevent dementia,” says Phillip Hwang, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health and study coauthor.
Does Exercising in Your Thirties Lower the Risk of Dementia?
There are tons of reasons you should exercise early in life. But in this current study, researchers determined the real benefits to cognition were in people who kept exercising in midlife and beyond. People in early adulthood (26-44 years old) showed no link between being physically active in early adulthood and a reduction in Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
Why Does Exercise Matter More Later in Life?
Doctors say there are a couple of reasons behind this. “Exercise in midlife drives improved cardiovascular health through late life,” explains Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, medical director in the department of neurology at Michigan State University. Your brain health and heart health are connected, he points out. So, if your heart is in good shape, your brain likely is, too.
Working out also improves blood flow to the brain. And that’s important, says Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, in reducing the risk of vascular dementia. People with this type of dementia have trouble with memory and concentration because of a blockage or reduction of blood flow to the brain. In general, regular movement improves brain structure and function, reduces inflammation, and enhances blood vessel function, Hwang adds.
Physical activity may directly affect other elements that lead to Alzheimer’s disease as well, such as the buildup of beta-amyloid, adds Hwang. Still, there’s more work to be done to see whether this is the main way exercise protects against Alzheimer’s.
Can You Delay Exercise Until Your Forties?
The findings don’t mean that you should slack on fitness when you’re younger, Segil emphasizes. “The benefits of exercising earlier in life are what will allow you to get old,” he says. “A sedentary life as a young adult causes more health issues than memory loss as we age. Starting healthy habits early will allow you to live long enough to worry about getting memory loss when you are old.” As a bonus, those good habits will help your body from future heart attacks and stroke as well.
So if you’re consistently active, keep carrying on—you can feel good knowing you’re doing your brain a solid by exercising throughout life. But if you’ve slacked on working out lately, these findings may provide that extra motivation you need to get back to the gym. Your brain will thank you in the long run.
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