Staying physically active the key to better brain function as you age

Staying physically active is the key to better brain function in later life, a study suggests.

Any regular physical activity at any age is linked to better brain function in later life. However, maintaining an exercise routine throughout adulthood seems to be best for preserving mental acuity and memory, the study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry finds.

The findings remained statistically significant even when account was taken of childhood cognitive ability, household income, and education levels, though the association was weakened.

Physical activity is modestly associated with a lower risks of dementia, cognitive decline and loss of later-life mental acuity. The researchers wanted to know whether the timing and frequency of physical activity in leisure time might be the key to cognitive abilities as the years pass.

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They looked at the strength of association between a range of cognitive tests and physical activity on almost 1,500 people aged 36, 43, 53, 60-64 and 69. All were born in 1946 and had their cognitive performance measured at age 69.

Only 11 per cent of the group were physically active at all five time-points but those people had higher cognitive performance, verbal memory, and processing speed at the age of 69.

“Being physically active at any time in adulthood, even if participating as little as once per month, is linked with higher cognition,” according to the researchers from University College London and Oxford University.

The strongest association was observed for sustained cumulative physical activity and later life cognition, and for those who were most physically active at all ages.

“These results suggest that the initiation and maintenance of physical activity across adulthood may be more important than the timing … or the frequency of physical activity at a specific period,” the authors say.