Advice to Seniors: Keep Moving to Stay Moving
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iStock/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — Ideally, people should be exercising both their brains and bodies as they age.
Now, a new study from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago gives another compelling reason why staying fit can help you function better later in life.
According to lead researcher Debra Fleischman, “Daily physical activity may be able to protect motor function from age-related injury to the brain.” This damage often seen in elderly patients called white matter hyperintensities has a direct link to the problems with walking and mobility.
However, in a test of more than 160 patients with an average age of 80, those who scored higher in mobility tests were the seniors who exercised the most, even taking into account a high level of white matter hyperintensities and other factors such as weight problems and depression.
What’s more, staying active as one ages might also actually help to stave off this brain damage that limits mobility.
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