Gradual build-up of muscle strength with exercise helps to maintain cognitive functions in old age.
This is evidenced by the results of a study of neurologists from the University of New South Wales and the University of Adelaide (Australia).
Details published recently by the Journal of American Geriatrics.
The scientific project SMART (Study of Mental and Resistance Training) involved patients 55-68 years with the so-called mild cognitive impairment, LKN. It is known that such people are at increased risk of dementia: most of them inevitably progress to Alzheimer's disease in less than 10 years after the diagnosis of LKN.
Conclusions of scientists today are very relevant, given the terrible statistics on dementia.
In 2016, 47 million people worldwide have been demented, and by the year 2050, they will have reached 150 million! Humanity is facing the problem of an aging population, plus a total lack of effective methods of preventing dementia.
Working with weights improves brain function.
Australian researchers argue that resistance training (including working with weights) can not only preserve cognitive abilities in old age, but also improve brain function in patients with LCN.
Participants were divided into 4 groups that engaged in different types of training, including working with weights, stretching exercises, computerized memory training and placebo (exercise without load).
It was found that the build-up of muscle strength leads to a proportional improvement in cognitive functions.
It is enough to do it twice a week, reaching at least 80% of its peak capabilities.
As the trainers trained, they increased the load, and the tests for intelligence and fMRI showed more impressive results.
"The more people will perform resistance training, the healthier will be the aging population of the planet. The key to the success of such training is regularity (at least twice a week) and high intensity, which provides the buildup of muscle strength. This is most useful for the brain, "the authors concluded..
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