Brain health is one of the major issues that emerges as a person ages. Over age 50, the prospect of cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease become serious issues. The good news is that there are some things that anyone can do to drastically reduce the chances that you develop any of these dread conditions.

As both a scientist and a lifelong fitness devotee, I have been interested in the relationship between being in good physical condition, and being in top shape for brain work. Throughout my research career (which was not in areas related to physical fitness), I was always intrigued by the mental boost I seemed to get from my workout sessions. My intuition told me that being physically fit was really important in being at the top of my mental game.

The human body is an extremely complex system. Because of this fact, overly simplistic ideas about “this causes that’ should be regarded with a lot of skepticism. We all agree that exercise is a good thing for us, but to get the most benefit for ourselves, it is really important to do the right things’.and avoid the wrong things.

In recent years there has been significant research done about the effects of various exercise regimen’s on brain health. For those of us who have been doing aerobics training for several decades, the research findings have not been any surprise. It is really cool to see that mainstream medical research has found powerful evidence that regular aerobic exercise has a massive positive impact on brain health.

Here are some of the high points’..

In 2012, Pamela Greenwood and Raja Parasuraman published a review of scientific studies done over the previous 20 years on nurturing the aging brain. One of the dramatic conclusions was that aerobic exercise had a major impact on preserving cognitive function, and preventing various forms of dementia.

In Nurturing the Older Brain and Mind (MIT Press) the authors examined human and animal studies that unequivocally demonstrated the beneficial effects of regular aerobic exercise. A key reason aerobic training had such a profound positive effect was that running (or cycling, swimming, etc.) caused a large amount of freshly oxygenated blood to go through the brain for a prolonged period.

The fresh blood supply has two positive effects: 1) rejuvenating brain tissues; and 2) removing waste products from brain tissue. In addition, a study done at the University of North Carolina Medical School showed significant differences in the structure of blood vessels in the brains of older men who were runners as compared to sedentary individuals of the same age.

Blood vessels in the brains of 60 year old runners were large, flexible and open; virtually identical to the blood vessel structure in 30 year old men. The observed pattern of blood vessels in the brains of sedentary 60 year olds was constricted, jagged, and prone to clog. This pattern was found to be an indicator of high risk for strokes. Thus, the older runners were far less at risk for strokes than were their sedentary counterparts.

Now, many of you are thinking’what about resistance training?

The research studies noted above found that resistance training does not appear to confer the same brain health benefits as aerobic exercise. But’.stay tuned’.I will have more on this below.

There are many great reasons to do resistance (weight) training. There are some resistance movements that have a positive impact on some different aspects of brain health. I’ll cover these in another article. For now, be aware that if you are a person over 50, it is important for your own brain health to incorporate some aerobic training into your fitness program if you don’t already do so.

The issue becomes how much aerobic training, and what type?

How much aerobic training is needed to get the brain health benefits? The good news is relatively little. Doing modest amounts of aerobic training three times a week will provide most of the desired health benefit. Assuming that you are already training with weights, doing aerobics training 10-20 minutes three times a week is a great place to begin. The key is to get your heart pumping at about 70% of maximum, and have you breathing at a moderate level during the training.

For optimal results, you should gradually introduce short bursts of higher intensity running (or swimming or cycling, etc.). These bursts should begin at about 80% effort and last for 15-30 seconds. Gradually, you can build up to maximum effort for 30 seconds or less. You can eventually do multiple 30 second bursts during the same total training time. You should do this once a week. The other two days you do aerobic training, do 10-20 minutes of training at about 60-70% effort.

Most of us associate “aerobic’ training with running, swimming, cycling, rowing, stair climbing, etc. Certainly you can do any of these if you like. But’.there is an option for those of us who want to stay in the weight room.

(drum roll) ‘.the answer is to do high rep (light weight) circuits with 3-5 exercises of choice where you can get your heart rate up, and move from one lift to another. An example might be a circuit of dumbbell lunges, standing dumbbell press, power cleans, and bent over rowing.

Do each movement for 15 reps with no break between exercises. Take 30 to 90 seconds break between circuits. Do 3 circuits.

You can make your circuit harder or easier by inserting harder or easier movements, changing the time between circuits (shorter or longer), or adding or subtracting circuits.

Bottom line: Aerobics can have a HUGE impact on the health of your brain, and thus the quality of your life. Your time spent doing a small amount of aerobic work will mean you dramatically reduce your chances for having dementia, or cognitive decline.

In the next blog, I’ll discuss some weight training moves that can have a positive impact on your brain.

Richard