Physical activity at all ages has a positive effect not only on our physical fitness and health, but also on the functioning of the brain and intellectual abilities – the analysis of over 100 studies published in the Journal of Applied Physiology confirms.
As the authors of the study recall, previous studies have shown that regular physical exercise has beneficial effects on physical health – it reduces, among others, risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death from them, osteoporosis, and breast and colorectal cancer.
To find out if movement has an equally good effect on the brain and mental performance, scientists from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and the University of Illinois in Urbana (USA) analyzed the results of 111 recent studies on this topic. They were conducted mainly on humans, but also on animals.
Their work confirms that aerobic exercise, i.e. exercise that increases oxygenation of the body, such as cycling, jogging, swimming, supports the intellectual development of children. A metanalysis of 44 studies, published in 2003 in the Pediatric Exercise Science journal, shows that physically active children have better perception, focus better, are more creative, and achieve better results at school, e.g. verbal skills, they also have a higher IQ, compared to inactive peers.
Two 2010 papers by Laura Chaddock of the University of Illinois and her colleagues (one published in Brain Research and the other in Medicine and science in sports and exercise) showed that physically active children perform better on memory tests and have a larger hippocampus , i.e. the structure of the brain involved in memory processes. Still other studies suggest a beneficial effect of movement on toddlers’ ability to make decisions, concentrate and catch mistakes.
This is confirmed by observations of toddlers’ brain activity with the use of various neuro-imaging techniques.
Much less research on the effects of exercise on the brain and mental performance is carried out among young adults, but there are studies confirming that it is working well in this group as well. This applies especially to people with a genetic predisposition to reduced intellectual abilities, due to deficiencies in the brain of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
However, there is a large body of research showing that regular exercise can slow brain aging and mental deterioration, and prevent dementia.
There is also evidence that aerobic exercise, even if started in old age, has a positive effect on the structure and functioning of the brain, intellectual performance, especially related to planning and attention divisibility.
A 2006 study by Stanley J. Colcombe of the University of Stau Illinois, published in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological and Medical Science in XNUMX, found that aerobic exercise three times a week for six months led older people to increasing the volume of gray and white matter in various areas of the brain related to memory.
Also, strength training, with muscle strain, can have a positive effect on the functions and structure of the brain. Research on this issue was conducted mainly among elderly people. They show that these types improve memory and verbal skills in old age, provided that they are quite intense. Older adults who already have mild memory impairment and are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease also benefit.
Recent studies suggest that the effects of such exercises persist for up to a year after their discontinuation.
Research on the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of exercise on the brain is mainly carried out on animals. They show that regular physical activity changes the structure of the brain, stimulating the growth of new neurons and the development of blood vessels, and increases the production of growth factors, such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which stimulate the growth of neurons. , increase their survival and regeneration.
Increases in IGF-1 and BDNF levels with exercise have also been observed in humans. For example, Ricardo C. Cassilhas and his team at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil have shown that strength training increases blood levels of IGF-1 in elderly people.
According to the authors of the latest analysis, it confirms that both aerobic and strength exercise play an important role in maintaining brain fitness and mental abilities throughout a person’s life.
Scientists also emphasize that further research is needed on this issue, which will show, for example, how individual differences between people can determine the impact of exercise on the brain. (PAP)