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Benefits of Excercise
Oct. 16 (HealthDay News)
-- Regular exercise can reverse age-related brain decline, according
to a U.S. cognitive neuroscientist.
Prof. Art Kramer, of the
Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, says there's
substantial evidence showing the benefits of aerobic exercise and
physical activity on such executive-control brain functions as task
coordination, planning, goal maintenance, working memory and the
ability to switch tasks.
As people age, a
deterioration of white and grey matter in certain areas of the brain
can cause cognitive decline, Kramer explained. He reviewed published
research and found that several studies showed that regular moderate
exercise that makes a person breathless increases the speed and
sharpness of thought, the actual volume of brain tissue, and the way
in which the brain functions.
These benefits have been
noted in people with Alzheimer's disease as well as in those with no
signs of progressive brain disease, Kramer wrote in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Some studies found that
six months of aerobic exercise reversed age-related decline and that
older adults' brains retained plasticity -- the capacity to grow and
develop. Other studies showed that adults with higher levels of
physical fitness had less evidence of deterioration in grey matter
(involved in thinking) than less fit peers.
In women going through
menopause, a decline in levels of the female hormone oestrogen is
linked with poorer memory and declining brain power. But Kramer
cited a study that found older women who were physically fit had
more grey matter and did better on tests of executive control than
less-fit women, irrespective of whether they had hormone replacement
therapy. |
