Exercise May Slow Brain Aging By 10 Years In Older People
Older people who get more intense exercise are helping to keep their brains in shape, according to an observational study just published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Of the 876 people enrolled in the Northern Manhattan Study, 90 percent reported they didn't exercise at all, or just did light exercise like strolling and yoga. The remaining 10 percent reported they did moderate to high intensity exercise -- things like running and aerobics that get hearts pumping. When researchers compared the two groups, the low-activity group showed greater brain decline over five years than those in the high-activity group. The study subjects were tested on things like how many words they could remember from a list and how fast they could perform simple tasks.
More...