How to shave nearly a year off your brain’s age

Although there is no such thing as a “magic pill” that grants us good health and longevity, exercise comes close.

Getting regular exercise is proven to stave off everything from heart disease and stroke to diabetes and cancer. Research also shows it can slow brain aging, reverse age-related brain shrinkage and even potentially reduce the amyloid plaques and tau tangles that are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

Now, a team of researchers in Florida has added to the growing body of evidence showing the brain benefits of exercise…

A more youthful brain

In the clinical trial, 130 healthy participants aged 26 to 58 were randomly assigned to either a moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise group or a usual-care control group.

Those in the exercise group performed two supervised 60-minute workout sessions each week in a laboratory and added enough home-based exercise to reach about 150 minutes of weekly aerobic activity. This schedule matched the American College of Sports Medicine’s physical activity guidelines.

The researchers measured brain structure using MRI scans and assessed cardiorespiratory fitness through peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak). These measurements were taken at the start of the study and again at the 12-month mark.

Brain age estimated using MRI reflects how old the brain appears compared to a person’s actual age, with a higher brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD) meaning the brain looks older. Earlier studies have linked higher brain-PAD to weaker physical and cognitive performance and a greater risk of death.

After one year, the researchers saw clear differences between the two groups. On average, the exercise group saw their brain-PAD decrease by about 0.6 years, meaning their brains looked younger at the end of the study. By contrast, the control group’s brains appeared about 0.35 years older. While that change wasn’t statistically significant, a direct comparison between the two groups showed a gap of close to one full year in favor of the exercise group.

In other words, those who exercised showed brains that appeared nearly a year younger than those who didn’t change their habits.

“Even though the difference is less than a year, prior studies suggest that each additional ‘year’ of brain age is associated with meaningful differences in later-life health,” says Dr. Kirk I. Erickson, senior author of the study and a neuroscientist and director at AdventHealth Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh.

“From a lifespan perspective, nudging the brain in a younger direction in midlife could be very important.”

Factors involved are a mystery

The researchers looked at several possible factors that could explain why exercise influenced brain age. These included changes in:

• Physical fitness;
• Body composition;
• Blood pressure;
• Levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports brain plasticity.

To the researchers’ surprise, although exercise clearly improved fitness levels, none of these factors statistically explained the reduction in brain-PAD demonstrated in the trial.

“We expected improvements in fitness or blood pressure to account for the effect, but they didn’t,” says Dr. Lu Wan, lead author and data scientist at the AdventHealth Research Institute.

“Exercise may be acting through additional mechanisms we haven’t captured yet, such as subtle changes in brain structure, inflammation, vascular health or other molecular factors.”

Other studies on exercise and brain health have focused on older adults in whom age-related changes have already taken place. This trial took a different approach by targeting people in early to mid-adulthood, when brain changes are harder to detect but prevention may offer greater benefits over time.

“Intervening in the 30s, 40s and 50s gives us a head start,” Erickson says. “If we can slow brain aging before major problems appear, we may be able to delay or reduce the risk of later-life cognitive decline and dementia.”

What constitutes moderate exercise?

“People often ask, ‘Is there anything I can do now to protect my brain later?’” Erickson says.

“Our findings support the idea that following current exercise guidelines — 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity — may help keep the brain biologically younger, even in midlife.”

The moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity the study volunteers engaged in included jogging, cycling or fast-paced walking. It could also include swimming and sports like basketball or soccer, where you’re moving a lot. Even golf could qualify if you do your walks between holes at a fast clip.

The important thing is to choose an exercise you’ll stick to regularly and do it for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

What if you have limitations that affect your ability to exercise? Consider the vitamin that slowed biological aging by 3 years.

Sources:

Can Exercise Turn Back the Clock on Your Brain? New Study Says Yes — AdventHealth Research Institute

MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger — ScienceDaily

Fitness and exercise effects on brain age: A randomized clinical trial — Journal of Sport and Health Science