Expert on lifespan enhancement suggests blending mental workouts with physical activity as potential key to healthy aging; learn how to implement this strategy personally
Brain Endurance Training (BET) is a revolutionary approach that combines cognitive training and physical exercise, offering numerous benefits for older adults. This training, developed for elite athletes, is now being hailed as a potential solution to address cognitive decline in the aging population.
Professor Chris Ring, the study's lead author, recommends a battery of cognitive tasks for BET, including both executive function tasks (such as the Stroop test) and non-executive function tasks (like the psychomotor vigilance test). One of the first attempts to investigate BET in older adults, the study found that the BET group showed a 7.8% increase in cognitive performance after exercise, outperforming the exercise-only and control groups.
The study, published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise, involved 24 healthy sedentary women aged 65-78, divided into three groups: BET, exercise training only, and a control group. Each group completed three 45-minute exercise sessions per week, with the BET group performing a 20-minute cognitive task before each workout.
Cognitive Benefits of BET
BET improves cognitive functions such as memory, executive control, and inhibitory processes. This enhancement is due to increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which promotes synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis, particularly in the hippocampus. Regular exercise that includes mental challenges helps reduce age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration by stimulating growth factors (BDNF, vascular endothelial growth factor, IGF-1) and reducing inflammation.
Structured lifestyle programs combining exercise, cognitive stimulation, socialization, and diet improve memory and thinking skills in older adults at risk for dementia, suggesting that BET as part of a multifaceted approach enhances brain health.
Physical Benefits of BET
BET enhances physical endurance by training the brain to maintain effort and resist fatigue, supporting improved neuromuscular efficiency, mobility, and functional capacity. Mind-body exercises like tai chi and yoga, which incorporate mental focus and body control, outperform other exercise forms in reducing frailty and improving quality of life in seniors.
Aerobic and resistance training with mental engagement improve muscle strength, mitochondrial function, oxidative defense, and physical function critical for aging populations.
Incorporating BET into Exercise Regimes
To maximize the benefits of BET, it is recommended to combine standard physical exercises such as resistance training (twice weekly, 45 minutes per session) with cognitive challenges or mental tasks during or immediately after exercise. Integrating mind-body exercises (e.g., tai chi, yoga) that naturally include mental focus, balance, and controlled movements, proven to reduce frailty and improve both brain and body function, is also beneficial.
Developing structured programs that include regular behavioral coaching, social interaction, and cognitive stimulation alongside exercise (as seen in successful lifestyle interventions with older adults) produces superior results compared to self-guided exercise alone. Emphasizing gradual progression and supervision to maintain motivation and ensure safe increases in both physical and mental workloads is crucial.
BET is easy to incorporate and can be practiced independently or with a trainer. In physical performance, the BET group improved by 29.9%, compared to the exercise-only group's 22.4% and the control group's 7.1%. Professor Ring believes BET has the potential to improve healthspan in older adults by reducing the risk of falls and accidents.
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[2] Smith, J. A., Bond, D. L., & Kramer, A. F. (2009). The influence of a lifestyle intervention program on cognitive function in older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(13), 1236-1242.
[3] Hillman, C. H., Etnier, J. L., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). The cognitive benefits of physical exercise: considerations for improving executive function in older adults. Current Opinion in Psychology, 21(1), 64-69.
[4] Li, Y., & Liu-Ambrose, T. (2017). Tai Chi and Alzheimer's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 55(1), 181-194.
- The study's lead author, Professor Chris Ring, suggests adding cognitive tasks to workout routines, such as cardio exercises that involve mental challenges, to further improve health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise for older adults.
- BET, with its focus on cardio exercises and cognitive tests, has shown promising results in reducing age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration by increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and stimulating growth factors (BDNF, vascular endothelial growth factor, IGF-1).
- Mind-body exercises like tai chi, yoga, and BET, which incorporate mental focus, can be beneficial in improving physical fitness and aging by enhancing both brain and body function, reducing frailty, and improving quality of life.
