Frequent exercise can lead to long-term changes in your brain. A new study finds that walking for 2 hours every week can improve brain plasticity and cognitive performance.
Neuroplasticity is how our brains grow, learn, and evolve.
It’s a natural process of neurons connecting to one another, forming neural pathways in the brain which represent learning and memories.
A fascinating study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience discovered that frequent physical activity and exercise can enhance brain connectivity and plasticity in older adults.
The study followed 65 adults between the ages of 59-80 for an entire year.
All of the participants were sedentary before the study, reporting less than 2 episodes of physical activity lasting 30 minutes or more in the past 6 months.
For an entire year, the adults were asked to participate in a “walking group” or “stretching/toning” group that would meet 3 times per week for 40 minutes.
In total, that’s only 2 hours every week, but that’s a significant change for a group that has barely exercised at all for the past half year (and probably longer).
However, this small but consistent exercise led to tremendous changes in brain functioning and cognitive performance. Through fMRI scanning, researchers discovered…
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“Results showed that aerobic training improved the aging brain’s resting functional efficiency in higher-level cognitive networks. One year of walking increased functional connectivity between aspects of the frontal, posterior, and temporal cortices within the Default Mode Network and a Frontal Executive Network, two brain networks central to brain dysfunction in aging.”
The researchers also found that these functional changes in the brain were associated with better executive functioning, such as the ability to stay focused and think critically.
This is especially promising news for older adults or people who don’t exercise at all. You can make a big difference if you start building a steady “walking habit” into your daily routine.
If you think about it…
One year of walking can completely change your brain.
But you have to stay consistent and recognize the power of one day at a time.
Small steps each and every day. Then one day you can look back and see all the progress you’ve made.
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