We have known that it is as good for your brain to go out for more daily constitutional as for the rest of the body. In fact, a recently released study published in the journal Scientific reports suggests that walking along with other forms of moderate exercise have been shown to increase your creativity and inspire your imagination. An earlier study published in the journal APA PsycNet, 2014 found that training is more actually linked to the ability to evoke more successful innovations.
According to the latest scientific evidence linking your bones and your brain, a new study of cognitively impaired older adults was published. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, has found that going for fast, half-hour walks promotes healthy blood flow to the brain and improves its cognitive performance, while increasing memory function. Read on for more on this study and how you can take steps to ensure your own mind stays sharp. And for more advice on getting the most out of your walks, do not miss the big mistakes you should not make when walking, experts say.
It’s no secret that as you age, your brain also ages and may lose its sharpness. Your blood plays a key role here, experts say, as your heart weakens over time and your arteries harden. The result? Your brain gets less blood flow and less blood flow means less oxygen and other nutrients to your brain, which affects function. For more tips on improving your brain health, make sure you avoid the worst foods for your brain.
Studies, such as the latest – and a previously published study from 2013 in Journal of Hypertension—Has shown that older exercisers have a healthier blood flow. The study in Journal of Hypertension found that older men who were more active could produce better scores on cognitive tests.
For this new study, researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center tested 70 men and women, all 55 years and older, who were known to be cognitively impaired. They were given fitness regimens, including brisk walking or stretching exercises, which they needed to perform three to five times each week for 30 to 40 minutes. Along the way, they had the necessary heart monitors and received brain scans.
At the end of the study, of the 48 volunteers who completed the program, those who performed the aerobic exercise (including brisk walking, which started in a laboratory setting on a treadmill but eventually included walking outdoors) showed less stiffness in the blood vessels of their neck and more blood flow to the brain. (Other exercises included swimming, cycling or ballroom.) Those who stretched did not experience the same results.
“This is part of a growing body of evidence linking exercise to brain health,” said Professor Rong Zhang, Ph.D., a researcher at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, in the study. official release. “We have shown for the first time in a randomized study of these older adults that exercise gets more blood to your brain.”
“They also outperformed the stretch-and-tone group on some of the tests of executive function, which are thinking skills involved in planning and decision-making,” notes The New York Times. “These are usually among the abilities that decrease the earliest in dementia.”
Zhang notes to NY Times that “it probably takes more time” than 12 months to see real results in better cognitive function from regular aerobic exercise, but he recommends that people “park further away” from their destinations when shopping and “take the stairs” when possible. And for more ways you can go for better health, see this 20-minute workout that will help you get in shape and burn more fat.
Read on for more fantastic workout routines from Eat This, Not That!
