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Washington DC: New research suggests that regular aerobic exercise can help keep your brain biologically younger. Adults who exercised regularly for a year showed brains that appeared nearly a year younger than those who didn’t change their habits.
The study focused on midlife, a critical window when prevention may offer long-term benefits. Even small shifts in brain age could add up over decades.
Looking after your brain is a process that unfolds over many years, and new findings from the AdventHealth Research Institute point to an encouraging option. Researchers report that sticking with a consistent aerobic exercise routine may help the brain remain biologically younger.
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This effect could support clearer thinking, better memory, and overall mental well-being.
The research showed that adults who committed to a full year of aerobic exercise had brains that appeared almost a year younger than those of participants who did not change their level of activity.
Measuring Brain Age With MRI
Published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, the study examined whether regular aerobic exercise could slow or even reverse what scientists call “brain age.”
Brain age is estimated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and reflects how old the brain appears compared to a person’s actual age. A higher brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD) means the brain looks older, and earlier studies have linked this measure to weaker physical and cognitive performance and a higher risk of death.
“We found that a simple, guideline-based exercise program can make the brain look measurably younger over just 12 months,” said Dr. Lu Wan, lead author and data scientist at the AdventHealth Research Institute.
“Many people worry about how to protect their brain health as they age. Studies like this offer hopeful guidance grounded in everyday habits. These absolute changes were modest, but even a one-year shift in brain age could matter over the course of decades,” added Dr Lu Wan.
Inside the Year-Long Exercise Trial
The clinical trial included 130 healthy adults between the ages of 26 and 58. Participants were randomly assigned to either a moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise group or a usual-care control group.
Those in the exercise group completed two supervised 60-minute workout sessions each week in a laboratory and added home-based exercise to reach roughly 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. This schedule aligned with the American College of Sports Medicine’s physical activity guidelines.
Researchers measured brain structure using MRI scans and assessed cardiorespiratory fitness through peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) at the start of the study and again after 12 months.
Exercise Linked to a Younger Looking Brain
After one year, clear differences emerged between the two groups. Participants who exercised showed a measurable decrease in brain age, while those in the control group showed a slight increase.
On average, the exercise group saw their brain-PAD drop by about 0.6 years, meaning their brains looked younger at the end of the study. The control group’s brains appeared about 0.35 years older, a change that was not statistically significant.
When compared directly, the gap between the two groups was close to one full year in favour of the exercise group.
“Even though the difference is less than a year, prior studies suggest that each additional ‘year’ of brain age is associated with meaningful differences in later-life health,” said Dr. Kirk I. Erickson, senior author of the study and a neuroscientist and director at AdventHealth Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh. “From a lifespan perspective, nudging the brain in a younger direction in midlife could be very important.”
Why Exercise May Affect Brain Ageing
To better understand why exercise influences brain age, the research team examined several potential factors. These included changes in physical fitness, body composition, blood pressure, and levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports brain plasticity. Although fitness levels clearly improved with exercise, none of these factors statistically accounted for the reduction in brain-PAD observed in the trial.
“That was a surprise,” Wan noted. “We expected improvements in fitness or blood pressure to account for the effect, but they didn’t. Exercise may be acting through additional mechanisms we haven’t captured yet, such as subtle changes in brain structure, inflammation, vascular health or other molecular factors.”
Focusing on Midlife for Long-Term Benefits
Many studies on exercise and brain health focus on older adults, after age-related changes have already become more pronounced. This trial took a different approach, targeting people in early to mid-adulthood, when brain changes are harder to detect but prevention may offer greater benefits over time.
“Intervening in the 30s, 40s and 50s gives us a head start. If we can slow brain ageing before major problems appear, we may be able to delay or reduce the risk of later-life cognitive decline and dementia,” Erickson said.
What the Findings Mean Going Forward
The authors caution that the study involved healthy, relatively well-educated volunteers and that the changes in brain age were modest.
They note that larger studies and longer follow-up periods are needed to learn whether these reductions in brain-PAD lead to lower risks of stroke, dementia, or other brain-related diseases.
“People often ask, ‘Is there anything I can do now to protect my brain later?'” Erickson said.
“Our findings support the idea that following current exercise guidelines — 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity — may help keep the brain biologically younger, even in midlife,” concluded Erickson.
