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Brain games like crossword puzzles are a common recommendation to help keep your memory sharp. A new study looks at another strategy to protect against cognitive decline - keep walking. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: If you want to protect against memory loss and dementia, research shows there are steps you can take to reduce your risk. And the latest evidence comes from the new study of super movers, published in the medical journal Neurology. Super movers are people older than 80 who maintain an exceptional gait and can walk as fast as people a few decades younger, explains one of the study authors, Dr. Sofiya Milman of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
SOFIYA MILMAN: A super mover is someone who is older than age 80 and performing much better than their peers.
AUBREY: She and her collaborators analyzed data from nearly 4,000 older adults enrolled in a long-term aging study. All of them had taken a timed walking test, and the fastest 9% qualified as super movers.
MILMAN: The biggest takeaway was that super movers are about 50% less likely to develop cognitive decline than their peers, which is very impressive.
AUBREY: Bonnie Tsui is a science journalist and the author of "On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us And Why It Matters." She says walking requires balance, coordination and strength, which comes from our muscles.
BONNIE TSUI: I think that the finding isn't surprising because we know that muscle health is very much correlated with cognitive health, so especially as we age. Exercise makes your muscles grow, but it also makes your brain grow.
AUBREY: Studies suggests that regular exercise can boost the size of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that is important for learning and memory. And the new study finds super movers actually preserve hippocampal volumes. In addition, Tsui says, when your muscles contract during exercise, they release signaling molecules which can help support brain health, memory and cognitive function.
TSUI: Muscle is an endocrine tissue, which means that when we move, our muscles release signaling molecules that affect other body systems, including boosting brain cell growth and regulating metabolism. So muscle health is cognitive health.
AUBREY: Dr. Amit Saini is a geriatrician with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. He says the ability to keep walking as you age is a marker of good health.
AMIT SAINI: And as you walk, your heart is beating faster. And when the heart is beating faster, not only it's pumping the blood into the muscle, blood is being pumped to the brain also, and to the nerve and to your other system.
AUBREY: Scientists say the super movers may have genes that help promote healthy aging. But research shows it's clear that lifestyle matters too - what you eat, how much you sleep, social connection, how you manage stress and movement.
TSUI: I think that the takeaway is that movement is for all of us.
AUBREY: Whether it's walking, swimming, cycling, whatever form makes you feel good, keep it up. And it can boost muscle, memory and your mood along the way. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUCCI MANE, BRUNO MARS AND KODAK BLACK SONG, "WAKE UP IN THE SKY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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