Grant: CIHR Fellowship

As we age, many of us will experience subtle to noticeable declines in our thinking abilities. However, not everyone experiences such changes. In fact, many successfully maintain their thinking abilities well into their late life. These individuals suggest that healthy cognitive aging is possible and that noticeable loss in cognitive abilities can be delayed or avoided. This is a silver lining in the dark cloud of dementia and has led to intensive research efforts to better understand why some people's brains are more resilient to the effects of aging and disease than others. Studies have shown that physical activity and sleep can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment. These observations suggest that what we do throughout the day may play a key role in building a resilient brain. However, we are lacking evidence that looks at the picture of an entire day (sleeping, sitting, physical activities). To better understand the role 24-hour movement patterns can play in maintaining our ability to think despite the effects of aging and underlying disease(s) in the brain, large population studies that follow people over time are still needed. This information can then be used to provide evidence-based recommendations by public health to preserve cognitive function with aging and disease. Thus, we will use data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Healthy Brain, Healthy Aging Initiative - a CLSA sub-study of 2,630 Canadian adult females and males whose thinking abilities and brains will be measured twice, 3 years apart. These measurements will allow us to determine the effect of 24-hour movement on one's ability to preserve thinking abilities despite negative changes in the brain. In addition, we will explore whether 24-hour movement patterns are equally beneficial in building a resilient brain for females and males. Our results will ensure movement behaviour recommendations can be more individualised (e.g., sex-specific) vs. the one-size-fits-all approach.