This can improve memory and delay Alzheimer’s

A new study in mice shows that a hormone produced through exercise can strengthen and improve your memory. One of the hormones it produces, called irisin, promotes healthy brain development and may improve Alzheimer’s disease in rodents. Previous research on humans has shown that they also produce this hormone and that exercise can curb dementia and memory loss caused by aging.

The study, published in NatureJournal, was carried out by comparing two groups of mice; one that the irisin could not produce and another that produced normal amounts.

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Photo by Robina Weermeijer via Unsplash

The mice were instructed to walk for a few days and the mice that produced irisin performed well on rodent tests of memory and learning. Mice that were unable to produce irisin had more problems with performance, confirming the researcher’s theory that irisin is critical when it comes to experiencing brain benefits through exercise.

Although there was no mention of how many hours per day the mice ran, the study found that all of the mice that exercised had more neurons than usual, with the mice that didn’t produce irisin developing cells that had fewer synapses and overall were less effective. Once these mice were given Irisin, their performance increased significantly, with rodents of all ages showing performance increases, including older rodents with Alzheimer’s disease.

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Exercise has long been linked to brain and memory benefits, but this study is critical to understanding why. The hormone irisin plays a key role in terms of exercise benefits. According to the New York Times, the hormone could also be developed as a drug in the near future to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s and slow the decline in brain health.

While there is still a long way to go to understand how irisin affects humans, this study is an important first step in understanding the relationship between brain and memory health and exercise.