–
JOGLOSEMARNEWS.COM — Walking can be healthy for the body, besides that this one physical activity can also improve memory.
This was revealed in a recent study. The reason, walking encourages increased blood flow to the brain.
“Which is associated with better cognitive function and protection against memory loss and improvement,” explains licensed clinical psychologist Holly Schiff PsyD, as reported by EatThis, Friday (6/8/2021).
Recent studies have shown that walking also plays a role in improving memory and white matter in the brain. As is known, the human brain consists of gray matter and white matter.
Gray matter is a network containing nerve cells, while white matter is a network that connects nerve cells through axons. If likened to a computer, gray matter and white matter are the cables that connect everything and transmit signals.
Unlike gray matter which has been widely studied, the impact of exercise on white matter has not been widely studied. Therefore, Professor in the field of neuroscience and human development from Colorado State University Agnieszka Burzynska PhD conducted a study that has been published in the journal NeuroImage.
This study involved 250 participants aged over 60 years. During the study, the participants underwent an MRI of the brain and an assessment of their lifestyle. All participants are known to have good health conditions in general, but adopt a sedentary lifestyle.
The participants were divided into three groups. The first group or control group were asked to do stretching and balance exercises three times per week. While the second group was asked to do a brisk walk three times per week, each with a duration of 40 minutes. The third group was asked to undergo dance classes for three weeks per week.
After six months had passed, all participants were asked to return to undergo a series of examinations. This examination aims to measure cognition, memory, fitness, and white matter volume of participants.
As a result, the group that walked and the group that took the dance class showed improvements in body shape and improvements in white matter. However, the walking group showed the greatest improvement in their memory and white matter skills.
“The dancers spend most of their time in each session paying close attention to the instructor and not moving around much, which may have affected their results,” said Dr Burzynska, as reported by EatThis.
In the walking group, participants showed a more pronounced increase in axon size as well as lesion healing. Both of these are indicators of the volume and health of white matter.
In contrast, participants in the first group showed a decrease in white matter. Not that stretching is bad. However, these findings suggest that stretching does not provide the same cognitive health benefits as aerobic exercise such as walking or dancing.
From a scientific point of view, the findings in this study suggest that white matter can be “formed” and can be repaired at a later age. From a practical point of view, researchers have shown that taking a brisk walk several times per week can help keep white matter healthy and memory sharp.
–
