Physical_Activity_Guidelines

and fractures. Older adults, including those with a variety of health conditions such as Parkinson’s disease,
stroke, and hip fracture, and those with frailty obtain benefits from multicomponent physical activities.
Brain Health
Brain health can be defined in many ways, but the Guidelines focuses on the following areas:
• Youth—brain maturation and development and academic achievement;
• Older adults—dementia and cognitive impairment; and
• Across the lifespan—cognition, anxiety and
depression, quality of life, and sleep.
Some of the benefits of physical activity on brain health occur
immediately after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical
activity (acute effect), such as reduced feelings of state anxiety
(short-term anxiety), improved sleep, and improved aspects
of cognitive function. With regular physical activity (habitual
effect), improvements are seen in trait anxiety (long-term
Learn More
See Chapter 6. Additional
Considerations for Some Adults for a
discussion of physical activity and brain
health in conditions such as Parkinson’s
disease, stroke, and spinal cord injury.
anxiety), deep sleep, and components of executive function (including the ability to plan and organize; monitor,
inhibit, or facilitate behaviors; initiate tasks; and control emotions). Table 2-3 describes the benefits of physical
activity for brain health.
Chapter 2. Physical Activity and Health 39