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20 - More about the Importance of Exercise

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2024

Daniel Gibbs
Affiliation:
Emeritus of Oregon Health and Science University
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Summary

Aerobic exercise is good for the brain. If started in midlife it can reduce the chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease by up to 50%. I don’t think the mechanism for this long-term benefit is fully understood, but it is probably due to a combination of increasing blood flow to the brain, altering release of certain stress hormones, moderating inflammation, improving cardiovascular health, and reducing the occurrence of small strokes. There is also a well-documented acute effect of exercise. Again, the cause is not well understood and has generally been attributed to increased brain blood flow while exercising. For me, this cognitive boost lasts for at least several hours after completing a workout.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Buchman, AS, Boyle, PA, Yu, L, et al. Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults. Neurology 2012; 78: 13231329. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182535d35; PMID: 22517108; PMCID: PMC3335448 (open access version).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elsworthy, RJ, Dunleavy, C, Whitham, M, et al. Exercise for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease: Multiple pathways to promote non-amyloidogenic AβPP processing. Aging Health Res 2022; 2: 100093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2022.100093 (open access).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, YK, Labban, JD, Gapin, JI, et al. The effect of acute exercise on cognitive performance: A meta-analysis. Brain Res 2012; 1453: 87101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2012.02.068.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sinha, N, Berg, CN, Yassa, MA, et al. Increased dynamic flexibility in the medial temporal lobe network following an exercise intervention mediates generalization of prior learning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 177: 107340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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