With age, blood flow to the brain and arterial function decreases — but this decline can be slowed.
High-intensity interval training is the best exercise for preventing cognitive decline, research suggests.
Interval training is more effective than continuous training for increasing blood flow to the brain, scientists found.
Interval training (HIIT) involves short bursts of maximum effort, followed by periods of rest.
Interval training comes in a variety of guises: sometimes on a bicycle, other times running, jogging or speed walking
Typically, it involves exercising at maximum intensity for 30 seconds and then taking four minutes to recover.
This cycle is then repeated a few times.
Dr Tom Bailey, study co-author, said:
“As we age, the flow of blood to the brain and arterial function decreases.
These factors have been linked to a risk of cognitive decline and cardiovascular events, such as stroke.
Finding ways to increase brain blood flow and function in older adults is vital.”
The study included 21 people who either did interval cycling or who cycled continuously for around 10 minutes.
The results showed that blood flow in the brain was greater during interval training.
Dr Tom Bailey, study co-author, said:
“One of the key takeaways from the study was that both the exercise and the rest period were important for increasing brain blood flow in older adults.
This study shows that interval-based exercise was as effective as continuous exercise for increasing brain blood flow in older adults during the periods of activity, and more effective than continuous exercise when we measured the overall blood flow increases during both the exercise and the rest periods.
The benefits of exercise on brain function are thought to be caused by the increase in blood flow and shear stress, the frictional force of blood along the lining of the arteries, which occurs during exercise.
This study aimed to identify the type or format of exercise that causes the greatest increases in brain blood flow, so we could help to optimize exercise programs to enhance brain function.”
The study was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (Klein et al., 2019).
