Want to beat brain fog and stay sharp as you age? Here’s how

For many of us, retirement is the time to slow down and unwind but spending too much downtime on the couch can take a toll on your physical health and mental sharpness.

That’s the advice from scientists who’ve found that older adults who exercise regularly are better equipped to handle mental fatigue and perform better on both physical and cognitive tasks.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham (UK) and the University of Extremadura (Spain) conducted two studies that highlighted the benefits of staying active later in life. They discovered that older adults who maintained an active lifestyle outperformed their sedentary peers on a variety of tests, even when mentally fatigued.

In the first study, the male only participants were separated into two groups which comprised men aged 65 to 80 years old and then relatively younger, men aged 52 to 64 who both performed a series of physical and mental tests. The team found that the older participants performed worse on both cognitive and physical tasks compared to the younger group and the results were more pronounced when the participants were mentally fatigued before testing.

Next, the team studied both male and female participants aged between 66 to 72 and again separated them into two groups – group one comprised older adults who lived a more sedentary lifestyle who performed a series of mental tasks and breathing exercises and compared those results to the participants who lived an active lifestyle.

Again, the researchers found that participants who lived a more active lifestyle performed better even when they were mentally fatigued compared to the first group of sedentary older adults.

University of Birmingham researcher, Professor Chris Ring said the results showed how important physical activity is for adults as they get older, and how to avoid “the worst impacts of mental fatigue on cognitive and physical performance.”

“This research from our ongoing international collaborative venture confirms that regular physical activity has a host of benefits, with increased physical fitness associated with improved cognition, increased exercise capacity, and greater mental fatigue resilience,” he said.

“For older adults in particular, regular exercise represents a simple but effective means to stave off the effects of age in a host of areas, including avoiding the negative effects of feeling mentally fatigued after a particularly taxing task.”

Prof. Ring said older adults who wanted to perform better in demanding situations could follow these steps and help maintain their independence for longer.

“First, people can increase their levels of regular physical activity. Second, people can warm up using a combination of cognitive and physical tasks to better prepare them for upcoming physical performance overcome, especially when feeling mentally fatigued. Third, people can train using a combined cognitive and exercise workout called Brain Endurance Training (BET) to improve their mental fatigue resilience and enhance their physical performance,” he said.

If you’re looking for a simple way to ease into an active lifestyle, you can start by walking near your home. After all, walking is great exercise and you can adapt this form of workout to your fitness level and lifestyle needs. So, if you want to hit the pavement with purpose, here’s how you can design your walks to reap the most health benefits.

Follow a pattern

Just like any form of exercise, you should incorporate a warm-up and cool-down period on your walk.  Before you head off, it’s a good idea to wake up your legs first. In a seated position, you can do a few ankle circles, stretch your toes up to the sky then point them down. Standing up and holding onto a countertop or door frame, raise onto your tip toes then lower down, and complete some gentle leg swings and big arm circles. Start your walk at a slow pace for the first five minutes and then think about upping the speed.

Add in an incline

Walking on an incline challenges your body in ways a flat surface doesn’t and uses your legs, glutes and calves differently. Walking uphill also uses different muscles to walking downhill – so there are advantages to including both directions. If you’re not used to walking on inclines, don’t go too steep too soon.

Listen to music to help your pace

Your feet will want to keep up with the beat, so the faster the music, the faster you’ll walk. Try it out. Your favourite tunes will also make the walk more interesting. Only wear one earphone and keep your other ear alert to your surroundings and the traffic.

Add some light workout moves

A great way to add some resistance to your training is doing some squats, push-ups or light dumbbell work before you start your walk or after you finish. By doing some resistance training you will increase your joint health and bone mineral density leading to better walking as well as better overall health!

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.