The Public Health Authority recommends 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week for adults over 18 years. By moving, you can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as cancer and also counteract mental illness. Several neuroscientists also point out that the brain's ability is affected by movement.

The fact that just 150 minutes was chosen as a recommendation is due to the fact that several studies have shown that it has good health effects, but few Swedes live up to that level today. Nevertheless, a new research project will investigate whether the goal is not set too low. You would probably get even better effects if you moved 225 minutes a week instead, at least in some of the areas you measure.

Better problem-solving ability

Arthur Kramer at Northeastern university in Boston, USA, has been studying physical activity effects on the brain for over 30 years. He is one of the researchers who has shown that fitness training improves cognitive health and he has also studied how the brain's ability is changed by exercise.

- We have previously seen that problem-solving ability increases when one is engaged in running or walking fast, he says. But we have never really studied the doses. Maybe the effects will be even better if you move more?

Increased blood flow improves brain connections

He has just joined one of the largest studies ever to try to influence brain health through exercise. Over 600 older people exercise aerobically for six months, while their cognitive development is monitored in detail. Kramer is confident that they will experience great improvements and that their brains will really change with exercise.

- Blood flow to the brain increases, which improves the connections between different parts, he says. In addition, the structure of the brain is affected so that parts that are linked to problem solving become larger.

Sedentary as smoking 50 years ago

Other possible explanations are that exercise makes you feel better psychologically, that blood vessels in the brain are affected and that exercise has an effect on the classic risk factors for cardiovascular disease; this in turn causes the atherosclerosis to slow down. As the population grows older and illnesses such as dementia increase, daily exercise can be the difference between a healthy and a sick old age.

- I think the view on exercise today is in the same phase as the view on smoking was 20 years ago. Finally, people are beginning to understand that an immobile life brings with it health risks, he says. But the good news is that it can be changed. And it's never too late to start. We have seen great health effects on old people who have lived totally immobile lives and started exercising late in life.

You can see more about exercise and how it affects the health and the brain in the SVT program Best training.