Again about the benefits of physical education for the aging brain
Physical exercises help the brain to fight old age
Sandra B. Chapman (left – VM :) et al., Shorter term aerobic exercise improves brain, cognition, and cardiovascular fitness in aging.
They conducted their research among people 57-75 years old who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Some of the subjects were sent to systematic aerobics classes: for 12 weeks they had to exercise three times a week on an exercise bike or treadmill; others continued to live as they lived. Before the start of the experiment, six weeks after the start and after its completion, the subjects' cognitive abilities were assessed, as well as the state of the cardiovascular system and the level of blood supply to the brain were checked.
The researchers' logic is simple: the brain's work depends on the intensity of blood flow through its vessels, and if you strengthen the blood flow through the body as a whole, won't it improve the functioning of the brain at the same time? It remained only to test it experimentally. And, as it turned out, exercise really improved the blood supply to the posterior cingulate cortex, which is considered to be of particular importance in the later years of life. Due to the increased blood flow, the level of metabolism and neural activity in it increased.
Another important area that experienced the benefits of physical education turned out to be the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and, by the way, one of the first to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Those who regularly exercised in the gym showed the best results in memory tests. At the same time, as the authors of the work emphasize, they managed to see an improvement in the blood supply to the brain and cognitive functions in the sequence: first, the blood flow increased, then the "cognition" improved.
However, such exercises, with all their effect, had only a local effect, improving blood supply only in individual areas of the brain. In order to achieve even more and delay the age-related deterioration of brain functions as much as possible, physical education should be combined with mental exercises. However, it should be remembered here that not all mental exercises can be beneficial, but only those that require serious stress.
Prepared based on the materials of UT Dallas (Study: Aerobic Exercise Improves Memory, Brain Function).
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru14.11.2013