a small study has found that short but strenuous bouts of exercise may offer protection against neurodegenerative disorders, such as alzheimer’s and parkinson’s diseases, by increasing production of a protein that protects against cognitive decline.
the research,
published in the journal of physiology
, examined the potential of exercise and fasting to increase the lifespan of healthy brains and concluded that just six minutes of high-intensity cycling was the best way to boost the level of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf). in addition to facilitating the survival of neurons, bdnf promotes neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to form new pathways and connections.
in animal studies, increasing the level of bdnf helped with the creation and storage of new memories, enhanced the ability to learn and led to an overall boost in 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,”
said travis gibbons
, lead author of the study from the university of otago, new zealand.
“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 ageing.”