If you stay physically lively in your older years, you might be preserving your ability to maneuver forward. This isn’t only because you might be exercising your heart and lungs and strengthening your muscles and bones, but in addition possibly because you might be stopping the results of age-related brain abnormalities. Called white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Connections within the brain which are often related to long-term changes within the small blood vessels that feed the brain. High levels of WMH have been linked to difficulty walking, but one study was published Neurology March 11, 2015, observed that older adults with WMH who were more physically lively experienced fewer mobility problems.
Researchers measured physical activity in 167 older adults with WMH. For those that were most lively—in the highest 10%—the greater amount of brain damage didn’t affect their scores on the movement test. But for individuals who were half lively or less, more brain damage was related to much lower scores on movement tests.
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