Taking care of your brain is something we should all think about—no matter our age.
A new study from the AdventHealth Research Institute brings some good news: staying active with regular aerobic exercise might help keep your brain younger. This could mean better memory, clearer thinking, and overall improved well-being.
The study found that people who exercised regularly for one year had brains that looked almost a year younger compared to those who didn’t change their activity levels. The research was published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science.
The scientists used a special brain scan called MRI to measure “brain age.” This shows how old your brain looks compared to your real age. If your brain looks older than your actual age, it could be a sign of future health problems.
This measure is called brain-PAD (brain-predicted age difference). A higher brain-PAD means an older-looking brain, which has been linked to memory problems, poor physical health, and even shorter life span.
The study followed 130 healthy adults aged 26 to 58. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group did regular aerobic exercise, while the other continued their usual routine without making changes.
The exercise group aimed for 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week, following national health guidelines. They did two supervised sessions at a lab each week and also exercised at home.
At the start and end of the study, all participants had MRI brain scans and tests to measure their fitness. After one year, the people who exercised had brains that appeared about 0.6 years younger than when they started. Those in the control group—who didn’t exercise—had brains that appeared about 0.35 years older.
Overall, the difference between the two groups was close to one full year of brain age. While that may seem small, even a one-year shift in brain age can make a difference over time. Dr. Kirk Erickson, one of the lead researchers, explained that keeping your brain younger during midlife may help protect it from problems later in life, such as dementia or cognitive decline.
Interestingly, the scientists tried to find out why exercise helped the brain. They looked at changes in fitness, body fat, blood pressure, and levels of a brain protein called BDNF, which helps the brain grow and adapt.
While exercise improved fitness levels, none of these things explained the change in brain age. This suggests there may be other reasons why exercise benefits the brain—possibly through subtle changes in brain structure, inflammation, blood flow, or other processes the researchers didn’t measure.
Most studies like this have focused on older adults. But this one looked at people in their late 20s to 50s, showing that it’s never too early to start protecting your brain. If you start early, you may reduce your risk of memory loss or brain disease later on.
The researchers say the changes in brain age were small, and the people in the study were already healthy and well-educated. More research is needed to see if these brain changes lead to lower risk of serious brain diseases like stroke or Alzheimer’s. Longer studies with more people will help confirm these findings.
Still, this study gives hope. It shows that following simple exercise guidelines—just 150 minutes a week of walking, cycling, swimming, or other aerobic exercise—can have real effects on brain health. If you’re wondering what you can do today to protect your brain in the future, regular exercise might be one of the best places to start.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that eating apples and tea could keep dementia at bay, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health.
For more health information, please see recent studies what you eat together may affect your dementia risk, and time-restricted eating: a simple way to fight aging and cancer.
The study is published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science.
