High Physical Activity Levels May Counter Serious Health Harms Of Poor Sleep

It’s easy to sit more than you should. Many people sit at desks during the day, where we’re inactive for long periods of time. Moving more and sitting less can have major health benefits. Getting regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your health.

July marks the beginning of Healthy Vision Month, an awareness initiative led by the National Eye Institute that aims to spotlight the importance of eye health and protection throughout the aging process. As the current scientific understanding of aging expands, so does the knowledge of potential underlying mechanisms that contribute to physical and cognitive degeneration.

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found a vital mechanism, previously thought to have disappeared as mammals evolved, that helps protect mammalian stem cells from RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and Zika virus. The scientists suggest this could one day be exploited in the development of new antiviral treatments.

Key Takeaways

• “Superagers” who performed a challenging memory task in an MRI scanner were able to learn and recall new information as well as 25-year-old participants.
• Neurons in the visual cortex of the brains of super-aging older adults retain their selective and efficient ability to process visual stimuli and create a distinct memory of the images.
• In the future, interventions to train specific areas of the brain to be more efficient may enable normal aging adults to enhance memory and other cognitive functions.