A healthy lifestyle and regular exercise can help keep your brain young, according to new research.
In a new study, researchers in Sweden used artificial intelligence and brain scans to determine if there was any relationship between the lifestyles of older adults and their brain health.
The data showed that participants who had diabetes, stroke and low physical activity were also more likely to have a greater “brain age gap” – this refers to the difference between how old the brain appears biologically (brain age) and how old it actually is chronologically the character of the person. age.
A greater difference in brain age is associated with inflammation, white matter changes, and other indications of poor brain health, all of which increase the risk of cognitive decline.
The study was published on December 20 Alzheimer’s disease and dementiaJournal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“The choices people make in life – physical activity, social engagement, how many things they do that are cognitively stimulating – all these things can affect how the brain ages. Ambar Kulshreshtha, MD, PhD, MPHsaid associate professor of family and preventive medicine at Emory University School of Medicine Health. “When you have these medical conditions, you have to pay even more attention to the things you can control in your lifestyle.”
Here’s what experts had to say about the new research, why cardiovascular health is linked to a younger-looking brain, and ways to improve brain health as you age.
Aging causes physical changes throughout the body, and the brain is no exception. As people age, their brains shrink, and in certain parts of the brain, neurons can communicate less effectively. In addition, certain medical conditions can reduce blood flow to the brain and cause brain inflammation.
To get a better picture of how various health and lifestyle factors may contribute to brain aging, researchers collected brain scans of 739 healthy 70-year-olds living in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 2014 and 2016.
Using those images, the researchers then calculated the difference in each participant’s brain age by subtracting their estimated biological brain age from their chronic age.
Each study participant also provided data on various health and lifestyle factors, including how active or sedentary they were, whether they smoked, education level, how much alcohol they drank and their body mass index (BMI).
The researchers also tracked participants’ medical histories, which included any history of high blood pressure, heart disease, prediabetes or diabetes, depression, and stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), sometimes called a “warning stroke.”
The researchers found that, among 70-year-olds, the average brain age was 71. However, there were differences in the brain age gap depending on a number of factors.
People tended to have a greater difference in brain age, or an older-looking brain, if they reported being physically inactive, had diabetes, or had a history of stroke or TIA.
Those with larger differences in brain age were also more likely to have brain inflammation, changes in white matter, high blood sugar, and markers of cerebral small vessel disease (or damage to arteries or other blood vessels in the brain).
On the contrary, people who had prediabetes had younger brains, as did obese people who exercised regularly.
The results of the study highlight the role that lifestyle and common health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity can play in brain aging. They also suggest that exercise may potentially moderate the potential consequences of at least one of these risk factors.
However, it is not entirely clear how these factors might interact with each other or how they might speed up or slow down brain aging, the study author said. Anna Marseglia, PhDneuropsychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Geriatrics at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, he said Health.
The study simply established a link – but not a cause – between brain age and these health problems.
“We cannot determine exactly why cardiometabolic conditions are associated with poorer brain health,” Marseglia said. “However, previous research has consistently shown that vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease – especially when not managed – can damage blood vessels.
More research needs to be done, Marseglia said, especially because this study had a relatively small sample size and looked at data from only one point in time.
Although it cannot establish a causal relationship, a new study strengthens the idea that poor heart health may be linked to poor brain health.
“The health of the blood vessels is very important for the health of the brain and every organ because every organ needs blood,” David Jones, MDsaid a researcher at the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Health.
High blood pressure puts a person at greater risk of stroke, which in turn accelerates the aging of the brain. Hypertension can also cause brain inflammation, and diabetes is linked to damage to blood vessels in the brain.
In addition, heart disease and brain health have overlapping risk factors. According to the American Heart Association’s 2022 Statistical Report, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease share many of the same risk factors that also contribute to heart disease, including high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and tobacco use.
On the other hand, a healthy cardiovascular system appears to have positive effects on brain health. This is likely why a new study found a link between exercise and a younger-looking brain, Marseglia said.
“Regular physical activity, no matter how intense, offers many benefits for the brain,” she explained. “It strengthens the heart, improves circulation and helps maintain a healthy weight, all of which are important for maintaining brain health.”
Brain aging is inevitable – and research suggests it can peak at ages 57, 70 and 78. While not every person experiences cognitive decline or other brain health problems, it’s good to understand the ways you can protect your brain as you age.
Not all cardiometabolic conditions associated with an aging brain, such as heart disease or stroke, are within a person’s control, Kulshreshtha said. However, there are many other lifestyle factors that are.
“In addition to the classic, don’t smoke, limit your alcohol consumption and eat healthy, definitely be physically active,” Marseglia said. “That doesn’t mean people have to go to the gym or do intense exercise every day.” Even light, casual activities such as walking, gardening or any task that involves physical movement can be beneficial.”
Adequate sleep – between 7 and 9 hours for most adults – is also important, as is adhering to a “use it or be lost” philosophy when it comes to challenging the brain.
“Variety is the spice of life,” Jones said. “The more varied experiences you give your brain—exploring all its potential options for what it can do, rather than doing the same thing all the time—is one of the best things you can do to keep it healthy.”