The health of our brain blood vessels is crucial as we age. When blood can flow easily, our brains work better.
But as we get older, the resistance to blood flow in our brain increases. This is called “cerebrovascular impedance”.
When it’s high, it can lead to less blood flow in the brain. However, a new study shows exercise can change that.
Study Methodology: Walking and Jogging for Brain Health
Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas worked with 73 older adults, all between the ages of 60 and 80.
They split these volunteers into two groups. These groups then did exercise activities like brisk walking and jogging to see if these exercises could improve blood flow in the brain.
At the beginning, the exercise sessions were short, just 25 to 30 minutes three times a week.
But as the study went on, and the participants got used to exercising, they worked out more often, up to four or five times a week.
Results: Exercise Leads to Better Brain Blood Flow
The results were promising. The older adults who did aerobic exercises had a reduction in cerebrovascular impedance.
In simple terms, they had less resistance to blood flow in their brain vessels, which means their brains got more blood.
Rong Zhang, Ph.D., who was leading the study, said that this shows how good aerobic exercise is for the brain, especially as we get older.
Exercising can help keep our brain blood vessels healthy, which is essential for our brain to work correctly in our old age.
Not exercising can lead to many health problems, like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. But now, we know it can also affect our brain’s blood flow.
This study highlights the importance of staying active, especially as we get older. Aerobic exercises, even simple ones like brisk walking, can be beneficial for our brains.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, and higher magnesium intake could help benefit brain health.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and coconut oil could help improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s.
The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
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