If you’re worried about your brain’s health, you might want to think about your physical fitness levels.
A new study from the Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden looked at the link between physical fitness and brain fitness (or, if you want to be technical about it, call it “cognitive function”). Researchers looked at data on more than a million Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976 who enlisted for military service at age 18. Included in those 1.2 million men were more than a quarter of a million siblings — and some three thousand twins.
Teens in the best physical shape also performed better on cognitive tests than out-of-shape teens did. Those who had improved their fitness levels between the ages of fifteen and eighteen scored better on cognitive tests than those participants whose fitness levels decreased. Data from the twins (particularly the identical twins) helped demonstrate that it was physical fitness and other environmental factors that impacted brain function — not genetics. On average, the fitter teen scored higher on IQ tests.
Later in life, all those fit teens tended to do better economically and educationally than the less physically fit study participants.
It’s interesting stuff, for sure! The study authors don’t claim that physical fitness alone can cause better brain function, but there does seem to be a strong link. Other studies have explored the idea that better cardiovascular health can boost brain power:
- Regular exercise has been shown to help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression — things that can make it seem hard to think or concentrate.
- A 2007 study showed that aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, promoting the growth of new nerve cells in the parts of the brain that deal with memory.
- As little as ninety minutes of exercise per week can lower a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. (The Alzheimer’s Association actually recommends more than that: a half hour of physical activity per day.)
The Swedish researchers found that it wasn’t strength that matched up with brain function, but cardiovascular health. It’s aerobic exercise that does the trick! The increased blood flow that comes with exercise helps keep your brain working at its peak.