Thursday - November 19, 2009

Can Muscles Make You Smarter?

Is there a correlation between strength and smarts? A new study reveals that the fitness of your muscles may have a lot to do with maintaining the fitness of your brain, adding a new dimension to the mind-body connection.

A common dictum was that you either had brains or brawn, and usually one suffered because of the other. However, in a fascinating study1 published in the November 2009 edition of the Archives of Neurology, Dr. Patricia Boyle and her colleagues from Chicago reported that individuals who had overall greater muscle strength had a reduced likelihood of developing cognitive loss over a four-year period.

Researchers studied 970 men and women between the ages of 54 to 100 years old (average age of 80), with normal memory, testing their strength in nine different muscle groups. During the four year follow up period, 138 of these individuals developed cognitive loss. Interestingly, it was found that those individuals who ranked in the top 10% for muscle strength were 61% less likely to develop progressive cognitive loss compared to the weakest 10%. Additionally, stronger people, overall, experienced a slower decline in their mental abilities. Dr. Boyle noted, "We certainly think that it is important to be physically active and to work to keep our muscles strong. Good physical health is important for good brain function."