If you are a strong person, definitely you may have a
healthier brain, so says the latest study of the The University of Manchester,
reports ITRealms.
According to a study of nearly half a million people, ITRealms gathered, has revealed that muscular strength, measured by handgrip,
is an indication of how healthy our brains are.
Dr Joseph Firth, an Honorary Research Fellow at The
University of Manchester and Research Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute
at Western Sydney University, crunched the numbers using UK Biobank data.
A press statement made available to ITRealms, by using data from the 475,397 participants from all around the
U.K, the new study showed that on average, stronger people performed better
across every test of brain functioning used.
Tests included reaction speed, logical problem solving, and
multiple different tests of memory.
The study shows the relationships were consistently strong
in both people aged under 55 and those aged over 55. Previous studies have only
shown this applies in elderly people
“When taking multiple factors into account such as age,
gender, bodyweight and education, our study confirms that people who are
stronger do indeed tend to have better functioning brains,” said Dr Firth.
The study, published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, also showed
that maximal handgrip was strongly correlated with both visual memory and
reaction time in over one thousand people with psychotic disorders such as
schizophrenia.
He said: “We can see there is a clear connection between
muscular strength and brain health.
“But really, what we need now, are more studies to test if
we can actually make our brains healthier by doing things which make our
muscles stronger – such as weight training.”
Previous research by group has already found that aerobic
exercise can improve brain health.
However, the benefit of weight training on brain health has
yet to be fully investigated.
He added: “These sorts of novel interventions, such as
weight training, could be particularly beneficial for people with mental health
conditions.
“Our research has shown that the connections between
muscular strength and brain functioning also exist in people experiencing
schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder – all of which can
interfere with regular brain functioning.
“This raises the strong possibility that weight training
exercises could actually improve both the physical and mental functioning of
people with these conditions.”
Baseline data from the UK Biobank (2007-2010) was analysed;
including 475,397 individuals from the general population, and 1,162
individuals with schizophrenia.
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