ぽこ☺︎ワーママ心理士

New MRI study shows weekly exercise literally keeps your brain younger. A new year-long study suggests that regular exercise may help the brain stay biologically younger, adding to the long list of reasons to be physically active. In the trial, 130 healthy adults aged 26 to 58 were randomly assigned either to follow standard World Health Organization exercise guidelines—about 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous activity—or to continue their usual routines. MRI scans taken after 12 months showed that those who met the exercise targets had brains that appeared, on average, about 0.6 years younger than their actual age, while the control group’s brains looked roughly 0.35 years older than their chronological age. Although those absolute changes were modest, the nearly one-year gap between groups could accumulate over decades and may be important for protecting thinking skills and resilience against conditions such as dementia. Researchers tried to understand why exercise might slow brain aging by checking several possible pathways, including cardiovascular fitness, blood pressure, and certain beneficial proteins. Surprisingly, none of these fully explained the link, suggesting that other factors—such as subtle changes in brain structure, inflammation, or blood vessel health—may be involved and need further study. The team plans to expand this research to larger and more diverse groups, including people at higher risk of cognitive decline. Still, the findings support current public health advice: getting at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise in midlife may help the brain stay biologically younger for longer. References (APA style) Nield, D. (2026, January 29). *Exercise can actually make your brain look younger, MRI scans reveal*. ScienceAlert. Wan, L., Erickson, K., & colleagues. (2026). Effects of guideline-based exercise on brain age in midlife adults. *Journal of Sport and Health Science*.