Kim Johnson Hatchett, MD, is board-certified neurologist in Kansas City, Missouri, and recently posted on TikTok about the scariest thing she sees in her patients, who range in age from their 30s on up to 100. Here’s her story, as told to health writer Maressa Brown.
As a neurologist, there’s one thing that concerns me the most: The gradual weakening of America. No, I’m not talking about some existential crisis. What I am referring to is muscle weakness, which is more tightly linked to brain health than most people realize. So many of my patients are frustrated by their lack of mobility. I ask them about their activity level, and they often admit they aren’t really exercising at all. They truly don’t make the connection that their weakness is due to their lack of muscle movement, and they definitely are unaware of the impact that it might be having on their brain.
It’s not just my patients who are struggling to make exercise a priority. For many people, it’s all too easy to sit down on the couch to binge-watch an entire Netflix series instead of, say, watching it on a treadmill. People in their 30s and 40s are forgoing workouts because they’re hustling in their career, working side jobs, or running around with their kids, and they are just not taking care of themselves. They are not eating right, exercising, or, importantly, weight training. They’re not putting that investment into their strength and, ultimately, their mind. Every time you exercise, you secrete nerve growth factor (NGF), a peptide involved in regulating neurons in the brain. It can also support myelin, the neuroprotective sheath that helps nerve fibers shuttle electrical impulses quickly and efficiently and can degenerate with age.
If you’re doing cardio, you also increase blood flow to the brain, which improves cognition. You might be surprised to know that even a little bit of daily movement reduces your dementia risk. At the same time, if you play sports or do fitness moves that you’ve never done before and you’re learning a new skill, you’re actually creating connections in your brain. And doing that same activity over and over again strengthens those connections.
You want to have healthy teeth as you age, so you brush your teeth. Similarly, if you want to maintain your mobility and cognitive abilities, one investment you can make is exercising and using your muscles on a daily basis. That pop of NGF will just help your brain function better.
After about age 50, muscle mass decreases at a rate of 1-2% over the course of each year, and then, after 60, it’s 3% per year. And that expression, “If you don’t use it, you lose it” is definitely true. While you might think it’s just an older person who steps off a curb and breaks their hip or who has trouble going up and down stairs, you can feel the effects of failing to exercise even sooner than that. If you are weak, you may struggle just bringing your groceries in, doing yard work, or enjoying your vacation—walking around Disney with your family can be a challenge. I had one patient say it made them tired just to get their arms up to wash their hair.
Thankfully, you can get ahead of this by making some changes in your 30s and 40s. Think of it this way: Right now, in my 40s, I’m putting money into my 401K to make sure I’m good financially when it’s time for me to retire. It’s smart to make that same kind of investment in your health. Ideally, you should be doing some type of physical activity for 25 to 30 minutes every single day and strength training for about 30 minutes three to four times a week.
I often tell my patients that it’s fine to start out with basic bicep curls using five-pound hand weights or to just do chair squats. After incorporating exercise into their routine—like one of my patients in their 80s who started having nightly dance parties—they’ll often come back mentally sharper and sparked with renewed vitality.
Ultimately, what I wish people knew is that you have more control in the aging process than you realize! Getting weaker as you age is not inevitable and regular exercise and strength training will pay off in dividends in the end.
Related:
- 6 Things to Do in Your 30s to Improve Your Memory for the Long Haul
- The Surprising Risk Factor for Dementia That Has Nothing to Do With Diet or Exercise
- Are There Any Foods That Can Actually Help Prevent Dementia?
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