Are you working out enough? As a new study suggests that regular exercise can slow down brain ageing and is good for a healthy brain. Daily workout is especially crucial for old age people as it prevents diseases like memory that affect cognitive function. Exercise in any form, whether it is to grow muscle or just a regular exercise, it can help in making a stronger brain connections. Exercises can have positive effect on brain and significantly improve cognitive functions. According to researchers, physical activity can improve the release of hormones that triggers brain development and can keep your brain sharp even at old age.
Lead study author Hideaki Soya along with his colleagues from the University of Tsukuba, Japan tried to find an interlink between brain health, cognitive function, physical fitness and the role of exercises. Researchers knew that young people use right side of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) for temporary storage and manipulation while older people use both right and left side of PFC for the same. The study authors conducted to study to check whether physical exercises enabled brain at older to retain some properties of young brains.
For the study, researchers involved men older than 60 years with variable physical fitness. All the participants went through a well-known ‘color-word matching Stroop test’ where some words in different colors are displayed on the board and a person has to read the color of the word rather than reading the word itself. Researchers noted the accuracy and reaction time of each participant
After analyzing the data, study authors found that people who exercised regularly used left part of their PFC suggesting they still boast features of young mind. Also, they had shorter reaction time when compared to other participants.Soya said that the study has found that physical exercise at any level helps in keeping the brain fit in older age and improves cognitive function.
The study appeared in the journal NeuroImage.
