By Carol Blair Vaughn

Older adults who exercise regularly could buy an extra decade of good brain functioning, suggests a March 23, 2016 study by Dr. Clinton Wright, a neurologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Cool.  Jog your memory AND your body.

The study found that seniors who got moderate to intense exercise retained more of their mental skills over the next five years, versus older adults who got light exercise, or none at all.  Researchers found that less-active seniors showed an extra ten years of “brain aging “.  That sounds bad.

Wright says, “Physical activity boosts blood flow to the brain, and may enhance the connections among brain cells.”  He added, “Exercise can also help manage vascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and diabetes.”  That’s important because many studies have suggested that the risk factors for heart disease and stroke also boost the odds of dementia.

The potential to add extra years of healthy brain function just might motivate more people to get moving.  The study suggested moderate to intense exercise, for instance: swimming, jogging, hiking, or vigorous dancing, could result in brains which function at a level ten years younger than those of couch potatoes.  It has to be exercise which gets your heart rate up significantly, but Wright’s team is continuing to clarify the correct duration and intensity to succeed.

Incredibly, those who exercised intensively were found to have cognitive skills characteristic of individuals ten years younger than those who participated in little, or no exercise at all.  In other words, avoiding exercise gives you an elevated chance of premature or accelerated cognitive decline.  At the very least, you will lower your blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, as well as help maintain lean muscle mass and counter against frailty, with some regular moderate exercise.

Here in Costa Rica, we live in a country with a life expectancy of 77.3 years for men, and 81.5 for women, which are both longer than the typical life spans of Americans living in U.S.A.  We should at least make an effort to live out those bonus years here in good health and with friskier brains.

See you on the soccer field…

About the Author

Carol Blair Vaughn holds a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts and is a retired college professor from Washington, D.C. She inherited her love for Latin America from her father, the former U.S. Ambassador
to Colombia, Panama, and Director of the Peace Corps, Jack Vaughn. Carol writes for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) and for an English language club in the southern region of Costa Rica. In the past, Carol served as Editor in Chief of What’s on Tap magazine.