Light exercise, housework could help brain health and lower dementia risk, study says
- Even light exertions may slow down ageing of brain, reveals report by international team of researchers, proving even a little exercise helps
- The results were based on activity-tracker data from 2,354 middle-aged adults, combined with participants’ brain scans
Even light activity such as household chores might help to keep the brain young, researchers say, adding to a growing body of evidence that, when it comes to exercise, every little bit helps.
The findings mirror upcoming guidance from the UK’s chief medical officers, and existing US guidelines, which say that light activity or very short bouts of exercise are beneficial to health – even if it is just a minute or two at a time – countering the previous view that there was a threshold that must be reached before there were benefits.
“Our study results don’t discount moderate or vigorous physical activity as being important for healthy ageing. We are just adding to the science, suggesting that light-intensity physical activity might be important too, especially for the brain,” said Dr Nicole Spartarno, first author of the study from Boston University, adding that light activity might include a gentle walk or household chores.
Writing in the journal Jama Network Open, the international team of researchers report how they made their findings by studying at least three days of activity-tracker data from 2,354 middle-aged adults from the US, together with the participants’ brain scans.
From the latter, the researchers worked out individuals’ brain volume, a measure linked to ageing: about 0.2 per cent of the volume of the brain is lost every year after the age of 60. Loss or shrinkage of brain tissue is linked to dementia, Spartano noted.