Staying Active Keeps Mind Sharp in Old Age
(NY, Reuters Health, 12/27/04)

Dr. B.M. van Gelder of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, and team, assessed how changes in the level of exercise affected the mental functioning of 295 men aged 70 to 90 from Italy, Finland and the Netherlands. The investigators initially questioned subjects on the intensity and duration of their physical activity and used standardized tests to measure their mental functioning; then tracked them for a decade. All of the subjects tended to reduce their level of activity to some extent, but the greater the decrease the more their mental acuity fell. These findings suggest that people who remain as active after age 70 as they were before are more likely to preserve their mental functioning. Scientists speculate that activity keeps the cardiovascular system healthy and thereby boosts blood flow to the brain.

(Neurology, December 28, 2004)