Dr Wendy Suzuki, neuroscientist and professor at New York University, has spotlighted the core benefits of regular exercise
Japan, Greece and Singapore may seem vastly different at first glance. But these nations share a remarkable similarity, hosting three of the world’s six elusive ‘Blue Zones’, where residents reportedly have a far greater chance of reaching 100 than ‘ordinary’ individuals.
If you’re not lucky enough to live any of these regions, don’t worry. Experts have spent years studying their localised ‘longevity practices’ and how others might incorporate them into daily life.
While calorie restriction, plant-based food products and even gardening are among the habits they uphold, it’s the one about exercise that’s recently caught the attention of Dr Wendy Suzuki. The neuroscientist and professor at New York University has dedicated her career to investigating the impact of fitness on the brain.
Remarkably, she believes that just one workout per day could slash the risk of mental decline by up to an impressive 30%. Speaking on the ZOE podcast, she said: “[Blue Zone residents] are not people that go on a fad diet or a fad exercise regimen.
“These are people that live in the mountains all their lives. They walk up and down and up and down the mountain and they eat very little red meat and they, they eat a lot of pickles or, you know, all these things that are great for your gut microbiome. Not for a fad their whole life.”
Delving into daily exercise, Dr Suzuki outlined two key benefits. Number one regarded long-term improvements to mood, with numerous studies pinpointing that fitness can relieve symptoms of anxiety and stress.
On top of that, Dr Suzuki said that exercise can improve your focus and cognitive function too. This trend is illuminated in new research which saw that mice undergoing fitness trials experienced a 63% reduction in tau tangles – a key marker of Alzheimer’s.
Although this study was notably limited to animals, scientists believe that similar trends will be observed in humans and are planning wider clinical trials to examine this. Reflecting on Blue Zone residents once more, Dr Suzuki added: “They live to over 100 with good cognition, not degrading. And that’s it.”
The NHS estimates that more than 944,000 people in the UK are currently living with dementia, including one in every 11 individuals aged over 65. Dementia is an umbrella term to describe several conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning.
Right now, there is no cure for dementia but treatments are available to reduce its symptoms. However, recent academia suggest that up to 45% of dementia cases can be prevented by making lifestyle changes.
Last year, Oxford University scientists found that pollution, alcohol consumption and fatigue are associated with a worsened dementia risk, after analysing 40,000 brain scans. Type 2 diabetes was also found to be among the worst risk factors of all, potentially leading to ‘degeneration’ of a weak spot in the brain.
Meanwhile, research from the University of South Australia has found that gaming and watching TV excessively may contribute to heightened cognitive decline too. Yet, reading, making crafts and listening to music were shown to support better brain health.
Amidst such trends, Blue Zone researcher Dan Buettner has expressed similar encouragement for regular exercise and the adoption of longevity practices. In a recent TikTok, the 64-year-old said: “We spend almost $4billion a year searching for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, a noble pursuit, but we spent almost nothing trying to prevent it.. And it’s preventable by eating a Blue Zone diet, which is to say a whole food, plant-based diet.
“Getting at least 20 minutes of physical activity a day, not smoking and doing simple things like having a hobby and doing puzzles, or learning a new language. So, instead of wasting billions, let’s focus on a Blue Zone approach and we’ll see you when you’re 100.”
