Posted on 02/25/2023 4:18:21 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Regular exercise at some point in life is a key to better cognitive health in old age, researchers say. Starting sooner is better and sustaining it longer are, too.
A new British study has found that exercising at least once a month at any time in adulthood is linked to better thinking and memory function in later life.
People who reported being physically active at least one to four times per month in separate surveys at the ages of 36, 43, 53, 60 to 64, and 69 had the biggest benefit.
The effect was greater than for those who said they exercised frequently (more than five times a month) during at least one of the study periods but who didn't necessarily keep it up across several surveys.
"Our study suggests that engaging in any leisure-time physical activity, at any point in adult life, has a positive effect on cognition. This seems to be the case even at light levels of activity, between once to four times a month," said Sarah-Naomi James. "What's more, people who have never been active before, and then start to be active in their 60s, also appear to have better cognitive function than those who were never active."
The biggest benefit for thinking and memory function was seen for folks who were physically active throughout their lives.
"The effect is accumulative, so the longer an individual is active, the more likely they are to have higher later-life cognitive function," James said.
Researchers had expected to learn whether being physically active during a particular period was most important. Instead, they concluded that starting some form of exercise and maintaining it over a long period may be more important than the timing of the activity.
The exact link between exercise and cognitive functioning is unclear.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The dog would enjoy it. But the cats...? ;-)
I have a cat that DOES NOT LIKE DOGS. And has proven his ability to act on his feelings. The dogs were not happy.
Reminds me of a story my son told us while that while renting a place it had a clear plastic towel rack in the bathroom. He would see ants crawling thru it out of the wall like a tunnel.
I wish I kept riding a bicycle from my early life on. Last year I rode 2,800 miles and the year before that 2,500 miles.
Once a month... Based on this BS, I’ll live another several hundred years.
I lift hundreds of lbs every day and that is just getting out of bed.
Dogs keep us healthy if they are sportish. I agree.
OMG! I remember that ad! Haven’t thought about that in years!
I’m pretty sure we ordered the Sea Monkeys too. It was a fascinating ad and we just had to try it.
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