2023-05-30 16:11:00
Most people do sports to stay physically fit and healthy. Probably only a few do it to do something good for their brain. But as a recent study shows, regular running in particular could protect against mental decline.
The benefits of regular exercise are manifold. The benefits for physical fitness are obvious. Endurance sports, for example, help both to maintain weight and to lose weight. Weight training, on the other hand, builds muscle and protects against muscle loss in old age. Regular physical activity generally protects against common diseases such as back pain, type 2 diabetes and obesity. But not only that: Sport has been proven to have positive effects on our psyche and is important for our mental well-being (FITBOOK reported). Now another study shows that especially when running, the brain of middle-aged people reconnects and thus protects against memory loss in old age.1
Running apparently protects against memory loss
The aging process leads to a for many people cognitive decline. The brain structures responsible for learning and memory are usually destroyed first. They are located in the so-called hippocampus of our brain. A new study by the American “Florida Atlantic University” (FAU) in cooperation with the Mexican research institute “Cinvestav” has shown that regular exercise can protect against memory loss and cognitive decline. Especially that Run works wonders for the brain in middle age.
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Researchers examined the brains of mice
The American-Mexican study examined the brains of running mice. The researchers observed how running affects the neuronal network in the hippocampus in particular. Because it is assumed that neurons (or nerve cells) that are formed in adulthood contribute to the maintenance of memory function. However, it was previously unclear whether the neural networks formed in early adulthood can be maintained through physical activity in middle age.
To find out, the scientists used a novel marker based on the rabies virus. In this way, new neurons could be labeled in the adult rodents and their changes observed over time. About six months after labeling the neurons, the researchers analyzed how they became integrated into the neural network. It was shown that those neurons that were formed in the early adulthood of the running mice are involved in the long term in the hippocampus, where they contribute to the maintenance of memory in old age.
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Long-term training boosts the neural network
“Long-term exercise greatly benefits the aging brain and may protect against age-related memory loss by increasing the survival rate of neurons formed in early adulthood, thereby enabling their involvement in cognitive processes,” comments study author Dr. Henriette van Praag, Ph.D. from the “Schmidt College of Medicine” at the FAU the study result in a report.2 The research also found that running also promotes the transmission of navigation-related information in the brain, which in particular strengthens spatial memory function. This could possibly also happen dementia and protect against Alzheimer’s, which often manifests itself as a loss of orientation.
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Researchers recommend regular exercise to prevent memory loss
“Our study provides evidence that regular exercise from young adulthood to middle age helps maintain memory function,” says co-author Dr. Carmen Vivar. According to her, one should incorporate physical activity into one’s daily routine to protect oneself from cognitive loss.
Despite the exciting study results, it must be said that they were observed in mice. Whether this applies to human brains to the same extent still needs to be researched in long-term studies. The question also arises whether specifically running or any type of endurance sport in general To swim and To go biking improves the memory function of the brain. And it would also be interesting to compare it with other sports, such as weight training for years.
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