Your level of physical fitness is important in avoiding body frailty and delaying brain aging states the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Many studies have confirmed these findings in scores of men and women by comparing physically fit people in different age groups with those who had not exercised. They discovered that lack of exercise, in this latter group, had caused their muscles to be infiltrated with fat and their brains to atrophy.
These important findings show that physical frailty is not inevitable as we grow older. In the past, geriatricians (like used to be), were taught that after the age of 40 folks typically lose 8% of their muscle mass each decade. As we age, this process accelerates in those people who are sedentary. With the loss of muscle mass, they weaken and become vulnerable to falls, broken bones and an even more accelerated loss of muscle mass, resulting in even greater risk. This downhill spiral is a major cause of death in the elderly. BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO HAPPEN!
Physicians and sports medicine experts have compared forty competitive runners, cyclists, and swimmers with people in the same age group and gender who were not as physically fit. The results were very encouraging. Although there was a decline in muscle strength at age 60 in both sexes, there was little additional decline thereafter in the physically fit group. The amount of fat infiltration in the thigh muscles was also measured and paralleled the changes in strength. The 70- and 80-year-old athletes were more similar to those athletes in their 60s than the out of shape people in the older age group.
Older folks do not need to lose muscle mass and function due to aging, according to the orthopedist who led the study. Previously, we have assumed changes due to aging were unstoppable. By continuing to exercise, however, we can slow the aging process to a great extent. Naturally, older athletes can be troubled by injuries which are more frequent and have a longer recovery period. But even this misfortune can be ameliorated by cross training, stretching, being mindful of realistic limits and most importantly, in my opinion, not getting out of shape in the first place.
According to psychologist Gene Alexander and researchers at the University of Arizona, regular aerobic exercise can help stave off the mild cognitive failings of normal aging and spur the growth of new neurons in areas of the brain associated with memory and learning. This research becomes more and more important as 10,000 baby boomers per day turn 65. Those “senior moments” can be embarrassing, but limited by staying in good physical and mental shape. Using your body and mind are critical for successful aging.
Clearly, being involved in cognitive activities such as puzzles, cards requiring thinking, learning a new foreign language, writing, and other executive functions keep memory and reasoning ability at a higher level. Physical activity and staying in shape have been conclusively shown to be very important in brain functioning. Normally, the brain shrinks with age in those people who are not physically fit. However, neural activation, which is a measurable proxy for cognitive function, is objectively more intact in physically fit individuals.
We want to live well physically and mentally. Staying in shape makes a huge difference. Once you are in shape, exercise is fun and can be almost addicting.
So, get up and hit the gym, or take a walk, or a swim.
