Scientists have hailed the benefits of exercising early in life to lower the risk of your brain degenerating later. But new research suggests that even once you’re 45 or older, it’s not too late to try, CNN reported on Sunday.
Having the highest levels of physical activity in midlife and late life was associated with a 41% and 45% lower risk of dementia, respectively, found the study that published November 19 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Midlife was defined as ages 45 to 64, while late life was ages 65 to 88.
“This study shifts the conversation from ‘exercise is good for the brain’ to ‘there may be key windows when exercise matters most for brain health,’” said Dr. Sanjula Singh, an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School and principal investigator at the Brain Care Labs at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She wasn’t involved in the study.
With an estimated 57 million people worldwide having dementia and nearly triple that number expected by 2050, the authors “wanted to investigate whether the impact of physical activity on dementia risk differed or stayed consistent across the adult life course,” said Dr. Phillip Hwang, lead study author and assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, via email.
A downside of this study is that it can’t suggest how much exercise to do due to the measurement the researchers used, Hwang said.
It was “a composite measure based on the number of hours a person spends sleeping, in sedentary behavior, and doing light, moderate and heavy activities in a day,” he added. “However, finding ways to be more active and moving around is important.”
Hwang’s findings are also affirmed by other studies that suggested more specific guidance.
A 2022 study found that people who walked just 3,800 steps per day lowered their risk of dementia by 25%, and, generally, the more steps participants walked, the greater the benefits were.
Using a bike instead of a car, bus or train for transportation has been linked with a 19% lower risk of dementia and a 22% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
