The Best Exercises to Improve Brain Health After 60

Have you ever wondered why we have a brain? The obvious answer might be “thinking.” However, scientist Daniel Wolpert has come up with a completely different explanation Meeting 2011 Society of Neurobiology:

“We have a brain for one reason and one reason only: to perform adaptive and intricate movements”

Operate your brain to be effective

The brain, in other words, is the conductor of the orchestra that directs the body’s movements. We call them abilities that allow us to interact with our environment cognitive abilitiesThese include concentration, learning, reasoning, adaptation, and communication with others. Each of these is crucial to enable us to carry out our routine and aid us maintain a good lifestyle.

So what’s the best way to keep your brain as effective as possible? Contrary to popular belief, your brain doesn’t continue to deteriorate with age. Instead, it just sees a decline in brain cells and a deterioration in connections from the age of 45 as part of the normal aging process. But brain plasticity, although reduced, is present for the rest of life. Each person will build cognitive reserve throughout their life.

The more positive, wealthy and stimulating the lifestyle, the stronger and more effective the reserve. In other words, it is possible to moderate the influence of age on cognition.

The benefits of physical activity on cognitive performance after the age of 60

In fact, many studies show that physical activity improves cognitive abilities, even after the age of 60. From increased memory, better reactivity to better planning skills, the benefits are endless.

Despite this, few older people regularly engage in physical education tailored to their body type. Impoverished motivation and access to these exercises are some of the factors that do not aid.

With this in mind, many caregivers may be tempted to offer older adults monotonous, routine activities because of their degenerating physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities. Indeed, for a long time, the range of sports offered and research in this field revolved around the same triptych: gentle gymnastics, walking, and yoga. However, you will benefit more if combining different training methods.

Three Ingredients to Support Brain Training for Seniors

Scientists are currently trying to figure out a winning formula that will stretch the cognitive as well as physical muscles of older people. It will consist of three main ingredients:

First component: comprehensive physical and movement stimulation of at least moderate intensity.

Moderate cardio workouts not only improve your cardiovascular and respiratory health, but also stimulate your brain efficient.Overall, better heart health allows the brain to receive more oxygen and even generate new neurons in the hippocampuswhere memory is located.

So it makes sense that programs designed to improve cognitive function should include cardio. But it is also it is necessary to combine them with exercises that strengthen muscles, improve flexibility and balance to achieve greater benefits. In addition, researchers emphasize the importance of adding situations requiring intricate motor skills and coordination, as they have a significant impact on cognitive functions (e.g. memory, attention and mental flexibility), especially in older people.

Second ingredient: stimulates brain cells during exercise

Incorporating cognitive stimulation, such as memorizing information over time and executing it, anticipating actions, or planning movement, is another winning strategy. When cognitive stimulation is combined with physical activity, it can bring synergistic effects and as a result, influence cognitive functions more effectively.

_Third component: group activities leading to social interaction. _

It has been proven that group exercises aid us persevere through this.

What this winning formula might look like in practice is still a subject of research. Right now, there are two broad types of exercise that have caught our attention and that can aid older people stay mentally keen.

A selection of team sports based on cooperation and competition

Team sports offer much more than just physical exercise sessions. What’s especially great about them is that they not only test your cardiorespiratory balance, but also employ your entire body’s physical skill set.

Take basketball or handball for example: balance, coordination and flexibility are necessary to moving around the court, dribbling or scoring points. Muscle strength is also required for passing, recovering the ball and moving. These team sports can be suitable even after the age of 60, provided they are properly supervised.

From a cognitive perspective, these activities create situations that are always modern, wealthy, and stimulating. We call this a double combination of stimuli simultaneous trainingMany researchers have emphasized the importance of this cognitive engagement in team sports and encourage their practice, especially among older people.

The latest research, such as the one made in 2022 A study by French researchers found that participating in team sports improved short-term visuospatial memory (which allows people, for example, to remember the location of certain objects for a restricted time) and planning skills in older people.

Get your body moving with exercise games

Another promising path is practice games – video games in which players must move to play. The name comes from a contraction of the words “exercise” and “games,” and gained popularity in the 2000s with Nintendo’s Wii and Switch consoles and Microsoft’s Kinect.

Exogames are designed to train various fitness skills such as balance, endurance, strength and coordination, while also stimulating cognitive functions. Among older people, several scientific studies show that this type of training helps improve many physical and cognitive abilities.

In 2020, a modern generation of exercise games emerged, using interactive walls to create an even more immersive gaming experience, such as Neo Xperiences Neo-OneSpheres ExerCube and Lu Aire interactiveIn these games, which combine the real and virtual worlds, physical objects (such as balls) and digital objects coexist and interact with each other in real time.

AND last examination compared an exergame program supported by an immersive wall with a walking and muscle strengthening program. The results suggest that this modern generation of exergames may be more effective for cognitive performance than customary training.

Combining physical and cognitive exercises gives you the best chance of keeping your brain well while staying keen. This is necessary for an busy and fulfilling life, no matter your age.