The benefits of regular exercise for health are proven by more and more new research.
Published recently in the journal Neurology, the work of American scientists demonstrates that exercise for the heart in youth is a pledge of excellent thinking and memory in middle age.
The study, led by Dr. David Jacobs Jr. (David Jacobs Jr. , PhD) from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, defines the average age as a gap between 43 and 55 years.
"This is another important scientific work that should remind young people of the benefits of heart exercises and activities such as running, swimming, cycling and fitness," said Jacobs.
If your cardiovascular system is in shape, then your body is able to effectively transport blood oxygen to the muscles and brain. A good thinking ability is very important for an aging population of developed countries.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the current rate at which the number of elderly people is growing is "unprecedented for the United States". The organization claims that two factors account for this growth: an increase in the life expectancy and aging of the baby boom generation. CDC states that by 2030 the percentage of older people in the US will exceed 20%.
In the course of his research, Dr. Jacobs and his colleagues focused on factors that could, from a young age, lay the foundations of health in the elderly and middle age. A total of 2,747 healthy young people were tested at the age of 25 years, and then these tests were repeated after 20 years, that is, at the age of 45.
Researchers also used tests for cognitive abilities, studying verbal memory, ability to solve problems and the speed of psychomotor reactions of participants.
Each minute of exercise increases your intelligence.
During stress tests at the beginning of the study and 20 years after it, participants were forced to run along the path until they could no longer continue or had shortness of breath. On average, at age 25, participants ran for 10 minutes, and after 20 years their result was reduced by 2.9 minutes.
The researchers found that every additional minute sustained on the simulator at a young age is associated with an improvement in the verbal memory score by 0.12 words and the speed of the psychomotor reaction by 0.92 points during tests passed at 45 years.
These results remain valid even after the addition of factors such as diabetes mellitus, smoking and high cholesterol. In addition, people who have better kept their physical shape in 20 years, were better able to cope with intellectual tasks.
Jacobs notes that although the results of the study were "modest", these tests can be strong factors predicting the development of dementia in the future.
The doctor explained in an interview with Medical News Today that scientists still do not fully understand the mechanisms that are responsible for the thought processes. It is clear only that the brain requires a large amount of oxygen delivered through the blood vessels. Therefore physical activity and a mobile way of life is a good stimulus both for the development of blood vessels and for the work of the brain.
medbe. en.