Six minutes of high-intensity exercise is enough to produce a key protein in the brain, one that is, and was, important in brain formation, function and memory involved in progress neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer Illness.
The specialized protein in question is called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and promotes both the growth and survival of neuron cells in the brain and the development of new connections and signaling pathways.
“BDNF has shown great promise in animal models, but pharmaceutical interventions have failed to safely harness the protective power of BDNF in humans,” says environmental physiologist Travis Gibbonsfrom the University of Otago in New Zealand.
“We saw a need to explore non-pharmacological approaches that can preserve the brain’s ability that people can use to naturally increase BDNF to support healthy aging.”
In this study, 12 physically active volunteers (aged 18 to 56) underwent three tests to see which produced BDNF in the brain best: 20-hour fasting, 90-minute cycling, or 6-minute vigorous cycling.
The short and intense cycle of cycling produced the best results in terms of BDNF production. In fact, it increased blood levels of BDNF four or five times, compared to a slight increase after light exercise and no change with fasting.
The next question is why this is happening – and that is something for a later study. Ultimately, high-intensity exercise could be used as a convenient and inexpensive way to keep the brain healthy and protect it from developing disease.
It’s possible that the increase in blood platelets that occurs naturally with exercise could explain these results. Platelets store a large amount of BDNF, which may account for the increase that coincides with vigorous cycling.
Alternatively, the increase could also be caused by the brain switching between energy sources after intense exercise, the researchers say, forcing the body to draw on lactate rather than glucose stores.
“This substrate switch allows the brain to utilize alternative fuels and initiates the production of important neurotrophic factors such as BDNF,” says Gibbons.
The team now wants to add more experiments to the mix, e.g. B. Fasting for three full days to see how this affects blood levels of BDNF. The combined effects of fasting and intense exercise are another potential avenue to explore.
We now have numerous studies linking exercise to benefits that can be felt in the brain, be it improvement of concentration or give a boost cognitive functionand it is likely that many more discoveries will follow.
“There is growing evidence that exercise benefits brain health at all stages of life,” says Kate ThomasExercise physiologist and study author at the University of Otago.
“These data show one pathway in which intense exercise may play a role. Fortunately, training is universally accessible, equitable and affordable.”
The research was published in Journal of Physiology.
