By Erica Techo
Athens, Ga. | Physical activity is widely recognized as an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle, but a new study from the University of Georgia has found an additional benefit – staving off cognitive decline.
Researchers at the UGA College of Public Health analyzed years of data from the national Health and Retirement Study, with more than 13,000 respondents over 50, and found that sustained physical activity can reduce the rate of cognitive decline for older adults.
This data shows the importance of maintaining consistent physical activity throughout life, said lead author Suhang Song.
“We found that longer and more frequent engagement in physical activity, was associated with delayed cognitive decline,” said Song, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management. “These protective benefits grew over the length of the study.”
Engaging regularly in a wide range of physical activities – from running and jogging to gardening, dancing, stretching, or even household tasks like vacuuming, doing laundry, and making home repairs – was associated with a significantly slower rate of cognitive decline.
Increasing vigorous and moderate physical activity in frequency also linked to a measurable slowing over time.
“The improvement of the decline rate may seem modest, but it builds up over time. If this slower decline continues, it could potentially delay the onset of dementia by many years, giving people more time to live independently and maintain quality of life,” Song said.
Promoting consistent physical activity may be a key component of any program aimed at reducing dementia risk in older adults, Song said.
