An aging expert explains what happens to you when you sit for eight hours.

Constant physical activity of a certain intensity is good for the brain.Getty.

Those over 50 will remember that for a long time there was something of an unwritten rule that He physical exercise and intellectual exercises These were the events incompatible. However, it is now known that participation in certain sports protects brain function. Spanish scientist Coral Sanfeliu confirms this point of view in his just published book entitled “The Brain in Motion.” Sanfeliu, director of the Neurodegeneration and Aging Group at the Barcelona Institute of Biomedical Research, part of the CSIC, has spent her entire career studying what happens to our brains as we age and how exercise can protect us from deterioration.

Hormesis: a little bad is good

Minor damage possible short term benefits. This is the basic principle of hormesis, a mechanism that, for example, works when we expose the body to cold or exercise. However, if the damage is too great, the positive effect is canceled. What is a good dose?

Coral Sanfeliu explains in El País that hormesis is the principle of resistance: the body creates protective forces facing physical or emotional harm such as injury. In terms of exercise, experiments in mice have shown that when certain damage occurs, epigenetic changes occur; That is, genes prepare for inflammation or oxidative stress. This stability is ensured by the body’s hormetic reaction. How many exercises? It is not clear, but it is known that if severe exhaustion occurs,

there will be negative consequences exceed profit.

Progressive exercise

This happens all the time: people who have never exercised in their lives and suddenly start doing CrossFit for the first time. Is our body ready to go from 0 to 100? According to experts, this will depend on each organism, but in general, exercise should be done gradually.

Sport is not a magic wand: it will not create healthier organs, improve the immune system or make us smarter, but yes, it optimizes brain response. During strenuous exercise, even if done gradually, some control must be maintained; for example, heart rate. As for the brain, excessive physical activity It won’t do you any good.

Does age matter?

Any time is good to exercise. As we have already said, exercise does not automatically improve our health, but if we don’t do this, we feel bad. In the case of children and young people, there is a very clear connection between physical exercise and cognitive development, since through sport they interact with the environment and develop their senses of interoception (recognition of the state of internal organs) and proprioception (ability to coordinate movements).

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Is it possible to restore cognitive abilities?

If the system is severely damaged for a long time, it will not be able to recover. Yes it is neuron death

or a significant decrease in connections, exercise can’t do anything. On the other hand, it is a protective factor during normal aging, without significant pathologies. Neither diet nor exercise cures various types of dementia, but they can delay your progress.

What is the minimum activity?

To receive benefits you must activity with some intensity to provoke this hormeistic reaction. A good start is to walk briskly for at least 10 minutes at a time, just long enough to elicit a cardiac response. Overall, go at a good pace. improves the cardiovascular system and digestionin addition to helping with weight control and increasing resistance.

WHO, for its part, recommends vigorous walking for at least 150 minutes per week. Additionally, other studies show that even brisk walks throughout the day promote good health.

Sitting hurts us

Sitting for eight hours a day is part of many professions. Occupational health research states that you will have to get up and take a short walk every two hours, in the majority. Because? Scientist Coral Sanfeliu is persistent: she sits for eight hours a day affects brain connections and neurotransmitters. If those eight hours of sitting in front of the TV, the damage will be even worse.

Luckily, we can compensate with an hour of activity. It should be taken into account that if corrective measures are not taken, damage can add up. In fact, the inactivity of the pandemic is expected to lead to an increase in dementia.

The best inheritance

Authors such as José Luis Trejo, co-author of the book, confirmed that mice born to fathers who exercised and mothers who were sedentary hadmore functional mitochondria and brain. The epigenetic factor (microRNA) responsible for this is transmitted with sperm and reaches the embryo. This is not the only way data is passed on from generation to generation, but, in any case, it is an example of constant and adequate training that not only protects the health of our brain, but also also our descendants

.