Sports improve memory even in old age

Resistance dementia: Sports improve memory even in old age

The practice of sports constantly working to resist age-related memory loss, because it stimulates growth and activity of the main area responsible for memory in the brain. This is what was discovered by U.S. researchers in a recent study.

Researchers claimed in this study that the hippocampus in the brain gradually shrink in size with age and aging, leading to difficulties in memory, thereby increasing the risk of Bzheimer and memory loss. Sport is not only to stop this negative shift in the brain, but can have the opposite effect and positive impact on the brain, which can help the elderly on the memory better.

The researchers involving 60 of the elderly, who had to practice exercises such as walking three times a week for a period of not less than 40 minutes each time depending on the program of the scientific team for one year and compared with 60 common others, who were the sport of light such as relaxation exercises . Participants' ages ranged between 55 and 80 years, did not show signs of memory loss and Alzheimer's. The scientists filmed the brain involved in the beginning of the study and after six months and one year of the study, using magnetic resonance imaging.

The result:
Moderate walking three times a week led to the expansion of the hippocampus front of the brain, and thus an improvement in memory performance, although the participants started to Arahlt later in life to this sport. Other areas of the brain such as hypothalamus (area of ??consciousness), and other areas responsible for the movement was not affected by this sport. Scientists explain that that sport does not affect all areas of the brain equally.

The group had physical activity and walking showed a remarkable development in the brain. Where researchers noted that the volume of the hippocampus in the brain of the sport who have increased by 2 percent compared with the sport and study. The second group merely by a simple relaxation exercises scientists did not notice any improvement in brain size, but continued small size of the hippocampus normal by up to 1.4%. This confirms that the relaxation sport for the elderly are not protected from Alzheimer's. It is advisable to scientists from the University of Pittsburgh in their study, published in the journal PNAS, the elderly in exercise, even if started late in life.

One possible reason for this increase in the size of the hippocampus, the researchers found in blood samples of participants that there was an increase in the amount of material responsible for the neurological nerve nutrition. These materials help the growth of new tissue in the brain and plays an important role in the formation of memory.

This is due to the Ntij study urges scientists elderly to exercise even at a late stage of age, because that affects the brain no matter what age, in order to improve mental performance.