Active minds: Exercise is now seen as one of the most important predictors of brain health through a person’s life span
When we learn something new and when we exercise, we grow dendrites and dendritic branches, thereby increasing the brain’s ability to store and transmit information. As early as age 40, however, we
start to lose approximately 5 per cent of brain volume every decade of life. Alzheimer’s Disease International, based in the UK, estimates that there are 35.6 million people living with dementia worldwide – a brain disorder that seriously affects a person’s memory, thinking and reasoning skills, the most common form of which is Alzheimer’s disease. Women appear to be more susceptible: in the US, approximately 16 per cent of women aged 71 and older are believed to have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, compared with 11 per cent of men. Alzheimer’s usually disease begins
after the age of 65, but it’s not a normal part of ageing. Age is one of the most important risk factors, but genetics and lifestyle choices also play a major role: approximately one-third of brain ageing is down to genetics and the other two-thirds is down to lifestyle. Ageing is a continuous process from birth though. That means Alzheimer’s, like heart disease, doesn’t start at age 60 or 70, but early in life.
april 2012 © cybertrek 2012 One-third of brain ageing is
down to genetics and two-thirds is down to lifestyle factors
Keeping the brain and body active
may be among the most important ways to reduce risk and possibly prevent the disease. Indeed, studies suggest that exercise can lower the risk of dementia by 50–60 per cent, and decrease Alzheimer’s risk by 60 per cent. So the best way to guard against
neurodegenerative disease is to build a strong brain. Aerobic exercise accomplishes this by strengthening connections between brain cells, creating more synapses, developing neurons and increasing dendritic branches. In 2004, Weuve et al studied 18,766 women aged 70–81 and found that those with the highest energy expenditure had a 20 per cent lower chance of being cognitively impaired in memory and intelligence tests. The research indicated positive results even with modest walking levels of 90 minutes a week, and best results from four hours’ running or 12 hours’ walking a week.
BRAIN AGEING WITHOUT EXERCISE However without exercise, the heart, lungs and muscles work less efficiently together. When that happens, the brain gets less of the blood, oxygen and glucose so vital to its functioning. Lack of physical activity is also a risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, obesity and high blood pressure, which in turn can also have an effect on brain function. The mental and physical diseases we
face in the ageing process are directly tied to our cardiovascular and metabolic systems. For example, as insulin levels drop throughout the ageing process, glucose has a harder time getting into the body’s cells to fuel them, causing blood glucose levels to increase. This raises the risk of diabetes – which in turn increases the risk of dementia by 65 per cent – and creates waste products that damage blood vessels and increase the risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s.
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