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• Posted October 30, 2024

Even 'Weekend Warrior' Exercise Can Keep Your Brain Healthy

Find it hard to take time to exercise during your busy workweek?

No problem, a new study says -- one or two “weekend warrior” workouts are just as likely to help you maintain your brain health.

People who regularly exercise, whether solely on the weekend or throughout the week, are more likely to stay sharp as they age compared to people who never work out, researchers found.

About 13% of cases of mild cognitive impairment might be avoided if all middle-aged adults exercised at least once or twice a week, researchers estimated.

“This study is important because it suggests that even busy people can gain cognitive health benefits from taking part in one or two sessions of sport and exercise per week,” concluded the research team led by Gary O’Donovan, an adjunct professor of sport science with Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 people in Mexico City. All participants were asked how often they worked out or played sports, and they also took part in a cognitive function test.

Weekend warriors worked out once or twice a week, while regularly active people said they exercised three or more times a week.

During an average follow-up period of 16 years, about 26% of the people who never exercised developed mild cognitive impairment, compared with 14% among the weekend warriors and 19% among the regularly active.

Overall, everyone who worked out had a 16% lower risk of MCI than people who never exercised.

Weekend warriors were 25% less likely to develop MCI as people who didn’t exercise, and regularly active people were 11% less likely to do so.

Exercise might benefit the brain by promoting healthy neurochemicals, and by supporting the brain’s ability to change and adapt, researchers said.

“Physical activity is also associated with greater brain volume, greater executive function and greater memory,” the researchers wrote.

The study shows that regular exercise can protect brain health, even if it’s only a couple sessions a week, the researchers concluded.

The findings were published Oct. 29 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern are associated with similar reductions in the risk of mild dementia,” the research team wrote in a journal news release.

“The present study has important implications for policy and practice because the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people,” they concluded.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on how exercise protects your brain health.

SOURCE: BMJ Group, news release, Oct. 29, 2024