Muscular strength, measured by handgrip, is an indication of how sharp your brain is, according to a study at the University of Manchester. The study which involved nearly half a million people also showed that the relationships were consistently strong in both people who were under the age of 55 and those over 55.
Not only did the researchers find stronger participants outdoing weaker ones in reaction speed, logical problem solving, and multiple tests of memory, they also found maximum handgrip strength to be strongly associated with both visual memory and reaction time in people with disorders such as schizophrenia.
“We can see there is a clear connection between muscular strength and brain health,” Dr Joseph Firth, who is an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester, says in a news release. “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.”
The study has been published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.
Source: The University of Manchester