At the end of this past December, the NY Times published an overview/review (Move Your Body, Bolster Your Brain) of four 2019 articles covering research work on physical exercise and brain health. We’ll recap these below, providing additional media links along the way.

A Single Workout Can Alter the Brain (How Exercise Affects Our Memory)

A study of healthy older adults shows that just one 30 minute session of exercise increased activation in the brain circuits associated with memory — including the hippocampus. The latter shrinks with age and is the brain region attacked first in Alzheimer’s disease.

Here are two additional media articles:

Exercise activates memory neural networks in older adults

30 Minutes of Aerobic Exercise Supercharges Semantic Memory

Here is a link to the research publication:

Semantic Memory Activation After Acute Exercise in Healthy Older Adults

How Exercise May Sharpen Memory (How Exercise May Help Keep Our Memory Sharp)

New evidence reaffirms suggestions that exercise-induced irisin, a hormone, may protect against neurodegeneration and boost memory in both humans and mice.

Here are three additional media articles:

How exercise may protect against Alzheimer’s

Exercise-Linked Irisin May Protect Against Neurodegeneration

‘Exercise Hormone’ Could Slow Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Here is a link to the research publication:

Exercise-linked FNDC5/irisin rescues synaptic plasticity and memory defects in Alzheimer’s models

Weight Training Changes the Brain (How Weight Training Changes the Brain)

Until recently the majority of research on exercise and brain health has been done with aerobic exercise, which indeed, has show that exercise is good for your brain. Now, new work using lab rats has demonstrated that weight training can overcome cognitive impairment and even jumpstart the creation of new neurons.

Here are three additional media articles:

Weight Training – Good for the Brain Too?

Research shows surprising link between weightlifting and cognition

Strong Rat. Smart Rat. Got That?

Here is a link to the research publication:

Resistance-exercise training ameliorates LPS-induced cognitive impairment concurrent with molecular signaling changes in the rat dentate gyrus

The Right Kind of Exercise to Lower Dementia Risk (The Right Kind of Exercise May Boost Memory and Lower Dementia Risk)

It is never too late to begin exercising. This study shows that even starting in your 60’s, you can reduce your risk of dementia. Short intense sessions may be the most helpful.

Here are three additional media articles:

Improved fitness can mean living longer without dementia

Being Physically Fit Reduces the Risk of Dementia

Robust Workouts Guard Brains & Health at Any Age

Here is a link to the research publication:

Temporal changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and risk of dementia incidence and mortality: a population-based prospective cohort study

All the links above have been added to Health > Physical Exercise