Bodybuilding Icon Arnold Schwarzenegger Advocates Regular Exercise as a Powerful Tool to Fight Cognitive Decline Through the Years

76-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger is probably one of the fittest individuals on the planet. While he is aging, there seem to be no signs or news of his brain slowing down. In fact, he is like fine wine, which, with age, just keeps getting better. And Arnold, while maintaining his physical and mental health, keeps sharing his wisdom with the world through his newsletter. In the recent edition, Schwarzenegger writes that exercise is a powerful tool to protect brain health.

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are a few brain diseases that are currently prevalent in the world. In fact, per AFC Urgent Care, Alzheimer’s is the fifth most common chronic disease in America. In a study, it was found that people after the age of forty can face multiple brain health problems as the brain starts to shrink by five percent per decade.

But the Terminator actor in the recent edition of Arnold’s Pump Club has a science-backed solution for the problem. While citing a study, the Austrian Oak notes that regular cardiovascular exercise can reduce or prevent brain deterioration. He adds that the scientists found that the adults who did more than an hour of exercise or some good-intensity activity every week had younger brains than those who were inactive.

“Adults who get 2.5 hours of low-intensity activity, 1.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity, or 1 hour of high-intensity activity every week have brains that look four years younger than those who are inactive.”

The cross-sectional study was done on more than 1400 people who were over the age of 65 and did not have dementia. It was based on the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and measures of brain health assessed by MRI in adults. The findings from the research showed that:

“Those who engaged in the top-third highest level of physical activity had younger-looking, larger brains.“

Arnold Schwarzenegger writes that the research shows exercise improves blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain. So, in turn, it might result in a reduction in the building of plaque that causes neurodegenerative diseases, which can further improve brain health.

While exercise helps improve brain health, the amount can vary from age to age. Just starting and moving your body for a small period and then gradually increasing the time is the most sensible way to go about it. And if done regularly, movement can serve as an anti-aging medicine for your mind. Also, in an earlier edition of his newsletter, the former governor of California talked about consuming an essential nutrient that might help prevent Alzheimer’s.

Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about a nutrient that plays a critical role in fighting Alzheimer’s

A few days ago, the seven-time Olympia wrote that having a good amount of vitamin D can help prevent Alzheimer’s. In the research that Arnie mentioned, it was observed that “people with higher levels of vitamin D had a 43 percent lower chance of getting Alzheimer’s.”

So, having your daily dose of sunlight and doing some exercise can play a significant role in lowering the risk of one of the most chronic and prevalent diseases in the country.

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