Morning Exercise Improves Brain Health in Older, Overweight Adults

Research from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Baker Institute published in the Journal of Applied Physiology determined exercise in the morning lowers the detrimental effects of being sedentary on the brain blood flow of older, overweight adults, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers enrolled 12 men and women aged 55 to 80 in three sessions. In the first session, subjects sat uninterrupted for eight hours. In the second, they sat for an hour before 30 minutes of moderate-intensity walking on the treadmill, followed by another 6.5 hours of uninterrupted sitting. In the final session, they sat for an hour, engaged in moderate-intensity treadmill walking for 30 minutes, then sat for another 6.5 hours interrupted by three minutes of light-intensity treadmill walking every half hour. "During uninterrupted sitting, there was a pattern of decline in brain blood flow over eight hours," said UWA's Michael Wheeler. "However, when participants performed a morning bout of exercise with or without subsequent breaks in sitting, brain blood flow improved in the afternoon, several hours after exercise. Interestingly, the afternoon recovery seemed to occur more quickly when exercise was followed by subsequent breaks in sitting. Since preventing declines in brain blood flow is important in maintaining brain health as we age, these findings are relevant from a clinical and public health perspective."