Exercising for Heart Health is Good for Your Brain: Study

Working out for your heart can be good for you brain, according to a study.

Canadian experts from the University of Montreal and Institut universitaire de gératrie de Montréal Research Centre discovered that exercising to prevent age-induced hardening and blockage of the arteries alleviates the risk of cognitive impairment and memory loss during later years. Their study involving 31 young participants and 54 subjects aged over 55 found that doing aerobics everyday reduced the likelihood of having stiff heart arteries and aorta.

The researchers evaluated fitness levels, maximum oxygen intake in 30 seconds, cognitive skills and brain structure of participants of both age groups. The study also used the Stroop task where a person  identifies the color of a color word printed in different ink to assess mental abilities and skills. Those with good heart health fared well in the cognitive tests.

It was observed that subjects with poor heart condition had decreased heart rate and restricted blood flow to the brain that might result in serious damage to small blood vessels and arteries.

"This is first study to use MRI to examine participants in this way. It enabled us to find even subtle effects in this healthy population, which suggests that other researchers could adapt our test to study vascular-cognitive associations within less healthy and clinical populations," said Claudine Gauthier, study author and researcher at the University of Montreal in a news release.

The findings revealed a direct association between aerobic fitness, aortic elasticity, improved heart health and increased brain function during old age.

"The link between fitness and brain function may be mediated through preserved cerebrovascular reactivity in periventricular watershed areas that are also associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. Although the impact of fitness on cerebral vasculature may however involve other, more complex mechanisms, overall these results support the hypothesis that lifestyle helps maintain the elasticity of arteries, thereby preventing downstream cerebrovascular damage and resulting in preserved cognitive abilities in later life," added Gauthier.

More information is available online in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.