Just six minutes of daily exercise can boost brain health and delay Alzheimer’s, study says
Just six minutes of intense exercise every day can boost the brain’s lifespan and delay the onset of neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, according to a new study.
The research was published in last week’s issue of The Journal of Physiology A short, intense cycling session can increase brain protein production, linked to memory formation, learning, and brain formation.
Researchers from New Zealand’s University of Otago have found that the brain-derived neural factor (BDNF), a special protein, can protect the brain against age-related cognitive decline.
Research has shown that increasing brain BDNF levels can help with memory formation and retention, as well as enhance learning and cognitive performance.
“BDNF has shown great promise in animal models, but pharmaceutical interventions have thus far failed to safely harness the protective power of BDNF in humans,” study lead author Travis Gibbons from the University of Otago said in a statement.
“We saw the need to explore non-pharmacological approaches that can preserve the brain’s capacity which humans can use to naturally increase BDNF to help with healthy aging,” Dr Gibbons said.
In the new study, researchers analysed the influence of fasting and exercise on BDNF production in 12 physically active participants – six males and six females aged between 18 and 56 years.
They assessed the contributing role played on this protein’s production by factors such as fasting for 20 hours, light exercise, a six-minute bout of high-intensity vigorous cycling, and the combined effects of fasting and exercise.
Scientists discovered that short, intense exercise is better than fasting for a day with or without a long session of light exercise.
Researchers claim that BDNF was four to five times more active when compared with prolonged, fasting activity.
“Six minutes of high-intensity cycling intervals increased every metric of circulating BDNF by 4 to 5 times more than prolonged low-intensity cycling,” researchers wrote in the study.
The cause of these differences remains unknown. They also stated that further research is necessary to discover the biological mechanisms.
Scientists suspect the brain may be switching its favoured fuel source during exercise for another to ensure the body’s energy demands are met.
“We are now studying how fasting for longer durations, for example up to three days, influences BDNF. We are curious whether exercising hard at the start of a fast accelerates the beneficial effects of fasting,” Dr Gibbons said.
“Fasting and exercise are rarely studied together. We think fasting and exercise can be used in conjunction to optimize BDNF production in the human brain,” he added.