Often, the motivation to exercise stems from wanting to improve physical appearance. Maybe you want to look slimmer, more toned or you want bigger muscles. While exercising regularly can certainly support these goals, one overlooked benefit is that it’s good for your brain.
According to a review published in the scientific journal Genes, regular physical activity delays brain aging and lowers the risk of dementia, Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. It also wards off depression.
Maybe you’ve never been big on exercise and have lived a predominantly sedentary lifestyle, and now you’re middle-aged and starting to think about your brain health. Is it too late for you to reap the brain-supporting benefits of exercise? Not at all.
“Data from the Framingham Heart Study showed that higher physical activity in midlife and late life, but not early adulthood, was associated with a 41 to 45 percent lower risk of dementia. Moderate-to-heavy intensity was most effective in midlife, while any intensity was beneficial in late life,” says Dr. Babak Tousi, a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
He emphasizes that all forms of exercise are good for your brain (and the rest of your body). However you like to get moving will support your health. But perhaps you’re wondering if there’s one or a few forms of exercise in particular that are the absolute best for brain health. If you want to build an exercise routine specifically centered around brain health, Tousi has some tips.
Best exercises for brain health
All forms of movement are beneficial to our health. But what’s the best type of exercise? Tousi says it depends on your brain health goal.
“The best exercise for brain health is a multicomponent program. No single one outperforms a combination of aerobic, resistance and mind-body exercise because each targets different cognitive domains. Simply put, aerobics is most beneficial for memory, resistance training is most beneficial for global cognition and mind-body exercise is more beneficial for working memory,” he says.
Let’s break down exactly what this means and looks like.
Aerobic exercise for memory: Want to support your short-term and long-term memory? Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, cycling and swimming, is a great way to do it. The effects, Tousi says, are both immediate and long term. “Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, delivering more oxygen and nutrients,” he explains. “Studies show that 10 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity can improve higher-level thinking skills for at least 20 minutes afterward.”
As for supporting long-term memory, Tousi explains that aerobic exercise can slow the natural shrinkage of the hippocampus (the brain’s memory center), which is important for learning and memory.
“Studies suggest regular aerobic exercise can help maintain or even increase the thickness of the brain cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain, with greater cognitive benefits at older ages,” he says.
Also, aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, strengthens connections between brain cells, supports the growth of new blood vessels and reduces brain inflammation, all of which support long-term memory.
Resistance training for global cognition: Global cognition is a term neurologists use that refers to a person’s overall mental functioning. The ability to pay attention, concentrate, executive functioning (including skills like planning, problem-solving and abstract thinking), verbal fluency and memory are all part of global cognition.
“One analysis of multiple studies found that strength training (a type of resistance training) was the most effective type of exercise for improving overall cognition in older adults, performing better than aerobic exercise,” Tousi says. Another study, published in the journal Aging & Mental Health, found that resistance training improved overall cognitive function both in cognitively healthy older adults and cognitively impaired older adults.
Why is resistance training so beneficial for global cognition? “The biological effects of resistance training are somewhat different from those of aerobic exercise. Resistance training raises levels of IGF-1, an insulin-like growth factor, which helps neurons grow and survive. It also increases BDNF, brain-derived neurotropic growth factor, with maybe a greater effect than aerobic training,” Tousi says.
Mind-body exercise for working memory: Working memory is different from long-term memory. It refers to short-term memory used to perform cognitive tasks. It only lasts about 30 seconds. Some examples of using working memory include calculating how much to tip, following instructions or directions, following along in a conversation or memorizing a phone number or code long enough to type it.
If you want to support your working memory, Tousi recommends mind-body exercises such as tai chi, yoga and Pilates. “Their cognitive effects work through mechanisms different from aerobic exercise, mainly stress regulation, attentional control and neuroplasticity,” he says.
According to scientific research, doing yoga regularly may protect the hippocampus (the part of the brain used for working memory) from age-related shrinkage. Similar to what Tousi explained, the researchers say that this is due to the stress-reducing benefits of yoga.
As for tai chi, Tousi says that it shows the largest effects of any mind-body exercise, particularly for executive function. He adds that this type of exercise has been shown to benefit global cognition as well.
As you can see, different forms of exercise benefit the brain in slightly different ways. That’s why Tousi recommends an exercise routine that includes some form of aerobic exercise, resistance training and a form of mind-body movement.
Having an exercise routine that incorporates different types of physical activity isn’t just a well-rounded approach to supporting your brain health; it’s the best way to support your entire body. Have fun mixing it up!
