Can exercise turn back the clock on your brain? New study says yes

Caring for your brain is a lifelong journey—and new research from the AdventHealth Research Institute offers hopeful news. A simple, steady exercise routine may help your brain stay biologically younger, supporting clearer thinking, stronger memory, and a greater sense of whole-person well-being.  

The study found that adults who followed a year-long aerobic exercise program had brains that appeared nearly a year “younger” than those who didn’t change their activity levels.  

Published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science on August 13, 2025, the study explored whether regular aerobic exercise could slow, or even reverse “brain age,” a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based biomarker of how old your brain looks compared to your actual age. A higher brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD), indicates an older-appearing brain and has been linked to poorer physical and cognitive function and increased risk of mortality in previous research. 

“We found that a simple, guideline-based exercise program can make the brain look measurably younger over just 12 months,” said Dr. Lu Wan, lead author and data scientist at the AdventHealth Research Institute. “Many people worry about how to protect their brain health as they age. Studies like this offer hopeful guidance grounded in everyday habits. These absolute changes were modest, but even a one-year shift in brain age could matter over the course of decades.” 

In this clinical trial, 130 healthy adults aged 26–58 were randomly assigned to either a moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise group or a usual-care control group. The exercise group completed two supervised 60-minute sessions per week in a laboratory plus home-based exercise to reach about 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week, aligning with the American College of Sports Medicine’s physical activity guidelines. Brain MRI and cardiorespiratory fitness, measured as peak oxygen uptake (VO_2peak), were assessed at the beginning and end of the 12-month period. 

Over 12 months, participants in the exercise group showed a measurable reduction in brain age, while the control group showed a slight increase. On average, the exercise group’s brain-PAD decreased by about 0.6 years, indicating a younger-appearing brain at follow-up. In contrast, the control group’s brains appeared about 0.35 years older, a change that was not statistically significant. Overall, the between-group difference in brain age was nearly one year, favoring the exercise group. 

“Even though the difference is less than a year, prior studies suggest that each additional ‘year’ of brain age is associated with meaningful differences in later-life health,” said Dr. Kirk I. Erickson, senior author of the study and a neuroscientist and director at AdventHealth Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh. “From a lifespan perspective, nudging the brain in a younger direction in midlife could be very important.”  

To explore how exercise might influence brain age, the researchers examined several potential pathways—changes in fitness, body composition, blood pressure, and levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein involved in brain plasticity. While exercise clearly improved fitness, none of these measures statistically explained the change in brain-PAD within this trial.  

“That was a surprise,” Wan noted. “We expected improvements in fitness or blood pressure to account for the effect, but they didn’t. Exercise may be acting through additional mechanisms we haven’t captured yet, such as subtle changes in brain structure, inflammation, vascular health or other molecular factors.” 

Most exercise-and-brain studies focus on older adults, after age-related changes have already accumulated. By contrast, this trial targeted early to mid-adulthood, when brain changes are more subtle, but prevention may yield greater long-term benefit. “Intervening in the 30s, 40s and 50s gives us a head start,” Erickson said. “If we can slow brain aging before major problems appear, we may be able to delay or reduce the risk of later-life cognitive decline and dementia.” 

The authors emphasize that the trial included healthy, relatively well-educated volunteers and that the observed changes in brain age were modest. Larger trials and longer follow-ups are needed to determine whether exercise-related reductions in brain-PAD translate into lower risk of stroke, dementia or other age-related brain diseases. 

“People often ask, ‘Is there anything I can do now to protect my brain later?’” Erickson said. “Our findings support the idea that following current exercise guidelines—150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity—may help keep the brain biologically younger, even in midlife.” 

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Reference
DOI: 10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101079

About Authors

About Lu Wan from AdventHealth Research Institute
Dr. Lu Wan is a Data Scientist at AdventHealth in Orlando, Florida, since June 2024. She previously worked as a Data Engineer at the University of Pittsburgh and as a Biomedical Engineer at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Dr. Wan holds a PhD and completed graduate research training at the University of Florida. Her research interests include brain aging, physical activity, and cognitive health across adulthood. She is affiliated with the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute, a nationally recognized center for brain research and care.

About Dr. Kirk I. Erickson from AdventHealth Research Institute
Dr. Kirk I. Erickson is the Director of Translational Neuroscience and the Mardian J. Blair Endowed Chair of Neuroscience at the AdventHealth Research Institute. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed postdoctoral training at the Beckman Institute. Formerly a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, his research examines how physical activity influences brain health across the lifespan. Dr. Erickson has published over 350 articles, led major NIH-funded trials, and served on the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee.

Funding information
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Grant P01 HL040962) awarded to Peter J. Gianaros and Kirk I. Erickson.