Exercise

How physical exercise and fitness improves your brain function

Benefits of exercise for the brain

  • A small study found moderate-intensity exercise was more beneficial for immediate memory performance than other levels of exercise or forms of rest.
  • A small study found low-intensity exercise triggers different brain networks than high-intensity exercise.
  • A large study found that better cardiorespiratory fitness was strongly associated with more gray matter.
  • Similarly, a review of clinical trials found that aerobic exercise protected against brain shrinkage (reducing gray matter).

Moderate intensity exercise can benefit memory performance

Three experiments involving a total of 59 people provides more evidence that moderate intensity exercise (e.g., brisk walking, water aerobics, cycling) is enough for cognitive improvement. Indeed, moderate intensity exercise had the most beneficial effect on memory performance.

The experiments compared exercise at three levels of intensity (low, moderate, high), high-intensity interval training (HIIT), active rest (cognitive engagement), and passive rest (no cognitive activity). Memory was tested using a recognition test with an 80–90 minute retention interval (people were shown items, then 80-90 minutes later, had to say whether an item was the same as one seen before, or new).

High & low exercise intensity found to influence brain function differently

A study involving 25 male athletes has found that low-intensity exercise triggers brain networks involved in cognition control and attention processing, while high-intensity exercise primarily activates networks involved in affective/emotion processing.

The athletes exercised on a treadmill, performing low- and high-intensity exercise bouts for 30 minutes on separate days.

Exercising good for your gray matter

A German study involving 2,013 adults (aged 21-84) found that better cardiorespiratory fitness was strongly associated with increased gray matter volume and total brain volume. Particular brain regions affected were the left middle temporal gyrus, righ hippocampal gyrus, left orbitofrontal cortex, and bilateral cingulate cortex.

Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using peak oxygen uptake and other standards while participants used an exercise bike.

Cardiorespiratory exercise includes walking briskly, running, biking and just about any other exercise that gets your heart pumping.

Exercise protects against brain shrinkage

A review of 14 clinical trials which examined brain scans from 737 people before and after aerobic exercise programs or in control conditions concluded that aerobic exercise significantly increased the size of the left region of the hippocampus, though it had no effect on total hippocampal volume (implying that the right side shrank).

Importantly, the effect on brain volume was not due to an increase in brain matter, but protection against the shrinkage that occurs over time. In other words, as one researcher noted, exercise can be seen as a maintenance program for the brain.

Participants included healthy adults, people with mild cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s and people with a clinical diagnosis of mental illness including depression and schizophrenia. Ages ranged from 24 to 76 years with an average age of 66.

The researchers examined effects of aerobic exercise, including stationary cycling, walking, and treadmill running. The length of the interventions ranged from three to 24 months with a range of 2-5 sessions per week.

Reference: 

Pyke, W., Ifram, F., Coventry, L., Sung, Y., Champion, I., & Javadi, A.-H. (2020). The effects of different protocols of physical exercise and rest on long-term memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 167, 107128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2019.107128

Schmitt, A., Upadhyay, N., Martin, J. A., Rojas, S., Strüder, H. K., & Boecker, H. (2019). Modulation of Distinct Intrinsic Resting State Brain Networks by Acute Exercise Bouts of Differing Intensity. Brain Plasticity, 5(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.3233/BPL-190081

Wittfeld, K., Jochem, C., Dörr, M., Schminke, U., Gläser, S., Bahls, M., Markus, M. R. P., Felix, S. B., Leitzmann, M. F., Ewert, R., Bülow, R., Völzke, H., Janowitz, D., Baumeister, S. E., & Grabe, H. J. (2020). Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Gray Matter Volume in the Temporal, Frontal, and Cerebellar Regions in the General Population. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 95(1), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.05.030

Firth, J., Stubbs, B., Vancampfort, D., Schuch, F., Lagopoulos, J., Rosenbaum, S., & Ward, P. B. (2018). Effect of aerobic exercise on hippocampal volume in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis. NeuroImage, 166, 230–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.11.007

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Physical fitness improves brains in younger adults too

  • Large brain scan study found physical fitness was associated with better brain structure and better cognitive performance in younger adults.
  • A small study found greater aerobic fitness was linked to a larger entorhinal cortex (a brain region affected early in Alzheimer's disease).
  • A small study found endurance runners’ brains have greater functional connectivity than the brains of more sedentary age-matched individuals.

Data from a publicly available database of 1206 MRI brain scans from the Human Connectome Project has revealed that physical fitness is associated with better brain structure and brain functioning in young adults.

The volunteers (average age 29) had their physical fitness assessed using a "two-minute walking test", where each person is asked to walk as fast as possible for 2 minutes and the distance is then measured. Cognition was assessed using a series of cognitive tests to create a global cognition score.

Better performance on the 2-minute walking test was associated with better cognitive performance, and with structural integrity of the white matter in the brain. The association with better cognition was found in nearly all cognitive domains, but had particular benefits for fluid intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed.

Age, gender, BMI, and blood sugar levels, didn’t significantly affect these associations, but education did substantially weaken the association.

Aerobic fitness linked to bigger entorhinal cortex & better memory in young adults

A study involving 33 young adults (aged 18-35) found that those with greater aerobic fitness had a larger entorhinal cortex, and performed better on a recognition memory task.

The entorhinal cortex, which is part of the medio-temporal lobe (MTL) is affected early in Alzheimer’s disease.

Participants’ fitness was assessed using a treadmill test to measure aerobic capacity.

Runners’ brains may be more connected

Comparison of brain scans from 11 male collegiate distance runners and 11 age-matched controls has found that endurance runners’ brains have greater functional connectivity than the brains of more sedentary individuals (those who hadn’t engaged in any kind of organized athletic activity for at least a year).

Reference: 

Opel, N., Martin, S., Meinert, S. et al. White matter microstructure mediates the association between physical fitness and cognition in healthy, young adults. Sci Rep 9, 12885 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49301-y

Whiteman, A. S., Young, D. E., Budson, A. E., Stern, C. E., & Schon, K. (2016). Entorhinal volume, aerobic fitness, and recognition memory in healthy young adults: A voxel-based morphometry study. NeuroImage, 126, 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.11.049

Raichlen, D. A., Bharadwaj, P. K., Fitzhugh, M. C., Haws, K. A., Torre, G.-A., Trouard, T. P., & Alexander, G. E. (2016). Differences in Resting State Functional Connectivity between Young Adult Endurance Athletes and Healthy Controls. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00610

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High-intensity exercise improves memory in seniors

  • A study found older adults (60+) who engaged in high-intensity interval training for 12 weeks showed significant memory improvement, while those engaging in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise did not.
  • A study involving young adults found greater fitness gains from HIIT were associated with greater increases in BDNF.

A study in which 64 sedentary older adults (aged 60-88) participated in a 12-week exercise program found that those who engaged in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) saw an improvement of up to 30% in memory performance while participants who engaged in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise saw no improvement, on average.

Moreover, improvements in fitness levels directly correlated with improvement in memory performance.

Participants participated in three sessions per week. A control group engaged in stretching only.

The HIIT protocol included four sets of high-intensity exercise on a treadmill for four minutes, followed by a recovery period. The MICT protocol included one set of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for nearly 50 minutes.

Participants were assessed using a Mnemonic Similarity task and two tasks that assess executive function. The Mnemonic Similarity Task is highly sensitive to functions carried out by the hippocampus, which is the brain region most affected by exercise, through the creation of new neurons.

An earlier study involving 95 healthy young adults who underwent a 6 week HIIT program also showed significant improvements in this type of memory. Those who experienced greater fitness gains also experienced greater increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

Reference: 

Kovacevic, A., Fenesi, B., Paolucci, E., & Heisz, J. J. (2019). The effects of aerobic exercise intensity on memory in older adults. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 45(6), 591–600. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2019-0495

Heisz, J. J., Clark, I. B., Bonin, K., Paolucci, E. M., Michalski, B., Becker, S., & Fahnestock, M. (2017). The Effects of Physical Exercise and Cognitive Training on Memory and Neurotrophic Factors. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 29(11), 1895–1907. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01164

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Stopping your exercise program can rapidly decrease brain blood flow

  • A small study involving older endurance athletes found that stopping their exercise for just 10 days was enough to significantly decrease blood flow to several important brain regions.

A small study involving 12 very fit older adults (aged 50-80; average age 61) found that, after stopping their exercise routines for 10 days, there was a significant decrease in blood flow to several brain regions, including the hippocampus and regions involved in the default mode network (both the hippocampus and the DMN show deterioration early in Alzheimer’s).

The study participants all had at least 15 years history of participating in endurance exercise and had recently competed in an endurance event; their usual exercise regimens had to entail at least four hours of high intensity endurance training each week. The group had a peak oxygen capacity above 90% for their age. This is a measure of the maximal rate of oxygen consumption of an individual and reflects their aerobic physical fitness.

Reference: 

Alfini, A. J., Weiss, L. R., Leitner, B. P., Smith, T. J., Hagberg, J. M., & Smith, J. C. (2016). Hippocampal and Cerebral Blood Flow after Exercise Cessation in Master Athletes. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00184

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Improving fitness may counteract brain atrophy in older adults, including those with MCI

  • A small study involving physically inactive older adults found that a three-month exercise program reversed some brain atrophy.

A study involving 30 previously physically inactive older adults (aged 61-88) found that a three-month exercise program reversed some brain atrophy.

Participants included 14 with MCI. The exercise program included moderate intensity walking on a treadmill four times a week over a twelve-week period. On average, cardiorespiratory fitness improved by about 8% as a result of the training in both the healthy and MCI participants. Fitness was assessed using peak oxygen capacity rates.

Those who showed the greatest improvements in fitness had the most growth in cortical thickness. Those with MCI showed greater improvements compared to healthy group in the left insula and superior temporal gyrus, two brain regions that have been shown to exhibit accelerated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

Reference: 

Reiter, K., Nielson, K. A., Smith, T. J., Weiss, L. R., Alfini, A. J., & Smith, J. C. (2015). Improved Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated with Increased Cortical Thickness in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 21(Special Issue 10), 757–767. https://doi.org/10.1017/S135561771500079X

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Exercise may be #1 way to prevent dementia

  • A long-running study involving women only found that regular exercise in middle age was the most effective they could do to prevent later cognitive decline.

A long-running study following 387 Australian women found that regular exercise in middle age was the best lifestyle change they could make to prevent cognitive decline in their later years.

The women were aged 45-55 when the study began in 1992. Health and lifestyle factors were assessed at intervals over the next 20 years.

Memory was assessed using a Verbal Episodic Memory test in which they were asked to learn a list of 10 unrelated words and attempt to recall them 30 minutes later.

Frequent physical activity, normal blood pressure, and high good cholesterol were all strongly associated with better recall, with regular exercise of any type emerging as the number one protective factor against memory loss.

The benefits of exercise were cumulative, meaning that every year’s activity counted. Similarly, the negative effects of high blood pressure were also cumulative. What you do over the course of your life, especially in middle age, matters! Which is not to say that’s a reason not make changes later in life. Better late than never definitely applies.

Reference: 

Szoeke, C., Lehert, P., Henderson, V. W., Dennerstein, L., Desmond, P., & Campbell, S. (2016). Predictive Factors for Verbal Memory Performance Over Decades of Aging: Data from the Women’s Healthy Ageing Project. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(10), 857–867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2016.05.008

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Running protects brain from effects of chronic stress

  • A mouse study found that running mitigates the negative impacts chronic stress has on the hippocampus.

Memories are made through a synaptic-strengthening process called long-term potentiation (LTP). Prolonged stress weakens the synapses, which decreases LTP, thus having a negative effect on memory. A mouse study found that when exercise co-occurs with stress, LTP levels are not decreased, but remain normal. The exercising but stressed mice also performed as well on the memory tests as the non-stressed mice, and better than both groups of sedentary mice.

Running is mentioned specifically because the exercise the mice took involved running wheels.

Reference: 

Miller, R. M., Marriott, D., Trotter, J., Hammond, T., Lyman, D., Call, T., Walker, B., Christensen, N., Haynie, D., Badura, Z., Homan, M., & Edwards, J. G. (2018). Running exercise mitigates the negative consequences of chronic stress on dorsal hippocampal long-term potentiation in male mice. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 149, 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2018.01.008

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Exercise & healthy diet associated with better cognition

  • A very large study found higher levels of physical activity, eating more fruits and vegetables, and not being obese, were all linked to better cognition in younger & older adults.

A Canadian study involving 45,522 adults (30+) found that higher levels of physical activity, eating more fruits and vegetables, and having a BMI in the normal weight or overweight range were each associated with better cognitive function in both younger and older adults.

Specifically, for those who were normal weight or overweight (but not obese), eating more than 10 servings of fruit and vegetable daily was linked to better cognitive functioning. When moderate exercise was added, those eating less than five servings, reported better cognitive functioning.

Analysis also suggested that higher levels of physical activity may be in part responsible for the relationship between higher daily fruit and vegetable consumption and better cognitive performance.

Reference: 

Alina Cohen, Chris I Ardern, Joseph Baker, Physical activity mediates the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and cognitive functioning: a cross-sectional analysis, Journal of Public Health, Volume 39, Issue 4, December 2017, Pages e161–e169, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdw113

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Which type of exercise is best for the brain?

  • Rat study finds running is the best type of exercise for growing new brain cells.

A rat study comparing different forms of exercise has found that running was much more effective than HIIT or resistence training in generating new brain cells.

Most exercise studies involving rats have used running wheels, and the benefits of these for the creation of new neurons in the hippocampus (adult neurogenesis) have been well-demonstrated. This study used two other (rather ingenuous) strategies to mimic high-intensity interval training and weights training.

Those animals given resistance training climbed a wall with tiny weights attached to their tails. Those given HIIT were placed on little treadmills and required to sprint at a very rapid and strenuous pace for three minutes, followed by two minutes of slow skittering, with the entire sequence repeated twice more, for a total of 15 minutes of running.

The exercise programs lasted seven weeks.

Those rats that had jogged on running wheels showed robust levels of neurogenesis in the hippocampus, with higher levels linked to higher levels of running. Those who did HIIT showed levels of neurogenesis that were somewhat better than the sedentary controls, but far less than that seen in the distance runners. The weight trainers, while much stronger, showed no more neurogenesis than the sedentary rats.

The findings are consistent with research showing weight training has little effect on the BDNF levels.

All this is not to say that HIIT and resistance training aren’t good for your brain! Exercise has a number of different benefits for the brain. This finding only speaks to the level of neurogenesis.

However, it does suggest that, whatever your exercise program, it should include aerobic exercise such as jogging or brisk walking (or even not-so-brisk, if that’s all you can do!).

Reference: 

Nokia, M. S., Lensu, S., Ahtiainen, J. P., Johansson, P. P., Koch, L. G., Britton, S. L., & Kainulainen, H. (2016). Physical exercise increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis in male rats provided it is aerobic and sustained. The Journal of Physiology, n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP271552

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