physical activity is critical

He sedentary lifestyle According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the fourth risk factor for global mortality after hypertension, tobacco use and high blood sugar. And this is also one of the main risk factors neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

Brain Week, celebrated this year from September 30 to October 4 by the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), discusses, among other topics, how Physical activity is an ally in the fight against depression, anxiety and stress. and to improve brain health, as detailed by the international health agency.

a lot of research reflect the benefits of exercise for physical and mental health. However, Almost half of the Spanish population leads a sedentary lifestylethat is, he spends most of the day sitting and does little physical activity – a bad habit that is more common among women.

And not reaching the threshold of 150 minutes of exercise per week recommended by the WHO (half an hour 5 days a week) means finding yourself in a delicate situation of “physical inactivity”, which can lead to many pathologies, especially cerebrovascular diseases, as emphasized. A couple of years ago another work came out. Lancet.

Why is a sedentary lifestyle so bad for us?

Herman Pontzer, a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University, argues that we are designed to exercise as a legacy of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

“Chasing and hunting animals requires significant physical activity and group strategy, which in turn contributes to our species having a more developed brain that requires more energy,” he explains to SINC. Jose Luis TrejoHead of the Lifestyle and Cognition Group at the Cajal Institute CSIC. In search of food, men traveled about 14 kilometers a day, and women, also very physically active, about 12.

“Our bodies evolved from those ancestors to exercise,” emphasizes Trejo, the book’s author. Brain and exercise (Ed. Qatar-CSIC) in collaboration with Coral Sanfeliufrom the Barcelona Institute of Biomedical Research.

A situation that contrasts with what is happening today. “Prolonged sitting at a desk or in front of the television is associated with decreased life expectancy,” Pontzer explains in a detailed popular article published in the journal. Scientific American.

As Trejo notes, “A sedentary lifestyle is the main enemy of a healthy brain” We can’t forget that the brain is irrigated by blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrition, so maintaining and protecting your cardiovascular system is essential to your health.

For example, a recent study in CirculationOne of the most prestigious publications in the field of cardiology, confirms that short 12 minutes of intense cardiopulmonary exercise causes changes in 80% of circulating metabolites, which is associated with a wide range of beneficial health effects.

Great learning ability

Vice President of SEN, David Ezpeleta Echavarri, explains to SINC that physical activity is good for both cerebral vascularization how to increase the number of synapses. Exercise is also associated with healthier brain aging, which may delay the onset of clinical manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases.

Moreover, “regular practice improves learning and memory abilities and also has antidepressant and anxiolytic demonstrated well in public,” adds Trejo. A good vaccine against the two “evils” of our time.

Ezpeleta points out that exercise has an additional benefit for the brains of children and adolescents: It increases neuronal growth factors (essential for neuronal survival), such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which promotes synapse formation and other related processes. That brain plasticity (the ability to modulate our activity depending on the environment in which we live).

These benefits are also observed throughout life, but are especially relevant in childhood, given the high prevalence of childhood sedentary behavior, mainly due to the use of screens. So, this expert remembers that it’s important to instill healthy exercise habits in little ones to take care of the brain, which is still developing.

Neuroprotection of the brain

In 2013 Harvard University Researchers (USA) found that levels of a protein called irisin increase in the brain during resistance exercise. This protein turns out to be the missing link in the chain that leads from exercise to brain health.

Experts have tested in rodents that by increasing blood levels of irisin during exercise, it can cross the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain and thus increase irisin expression. brain-derived neurotrophic factor and genes involved in cognition were activated. The irisin produced has the ability to control this important neuroprotective pathway in the brain.

This protein, already considered a hormone, has attracted great interest. New article suggests that irisin may prevent memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease by enhancing exercise-related neuroprotection.

As if all these benefits weren’t enough, according to a 10-year study of adults aged 39 to 67 recently published in the journal British Medical Journal. And restful sleep is critical for the production and secretion of hormones that regulate many processes in the body.

Sports yes, but not too much

It’s never too late to start exercising or reap its many benefits. This was reflected in a study conducted in British Journal of Sports Medicine with 3,454 healthy men and women with an average age of 63 who, after four years of consistent regular physical activity, had their odds of healthy aging multiplied by 7.

But like everything else, exercise must also be done in the right amount. José Luis Trejo warns that if the intensity or amount of exercise is increased too much, the benefits are reduced and may even be nullified to the point where there is no difference compared to a sedentary person.

In fact, as shown study published in PNAS in 2013The brain has an inhibitory mechanism when we “excessively” exercise. Besides the fatigue that accompanies prolonged exercise, there is another factor that occurs in the central nervous system that causes extreme fatigue and prevents us from continuing to exercise. It’s called central fatigue and it is caused by serotonin.

Efforts spanning generations

Physical exercise benefits not only the person himself, but also his offspring. Trejo showed in rodents that the offspring of those who remain physically active reach their grandchildren. Even if they lead a sedentary lifestyle, this is certainly not recommended.

And this leads to improved learning and memory, as he explained in his latest work, published in June in the journal Journal of Neuroscience. These cognitive benefits, Trejo tells SINC, are transmitted through germ cells via microRNAs that regulate gene expression and are involved in epigenetic inheritance.

“Although the study was conducted in mice, the epigenetic mechanisms involved are highly conserved between species and are essentially the same in humans,” he notes.

Prescription exercise

More and more experts consider exercise an important part of health management. Some even prescribe it. From University Hospital of the Jiménez Díaz Foundation from Madrid even believe that well-executed exercises are probably as effective, if not more effective, than some types of treatment. That’s why they prescribe it to their patients to help improve their well-being and quality of life.

Experts recommend always doing this activity gradually and maintain appropriate intensity according to each individual’s physical condition, and combine aerobics with strength training to build muscle mass. Of course, everything with the appropriate intensity and always in moderation.

“Physical activity is great and should be promoted in the same way as the Mediterranean diet,” he concludes. Oscar GomezCorporate Director of Care Continuity at the Madrid Hospital.