According to this study, the benefits of outdoor activity on the brain would be nullified by air pollution
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousAccording to this study, the benefits brought to the brain by outdoor activities would be nullified by air pollution
A brand new study conducted in England on over 8.500 people and appeared in the American journal Neurology warns sportsmen who love to practice high-intensity outdoor activities in green spaces or in cities where the rate of pollution is high. So pay attention to where physical activity is carried out outside. Research has in fact demonstrated the adverse effects that air pollution would have on the human brain, thus nullifying the benefits that vigorous sporting activity produces.
According to what was reported in the study, the most internal part of the human brain would be affected, i.e. the so-called white matter, responsible for the correct communication between the various brain areas, whose hyperintensity would be severely altered. Under normal conditions, outdoor activities, such as running or cycling, allow the individual to reduce lhyperintensity of the white matter, thus keeping its volume low. However, this is not recorded in areas with high levels of air pollution where the benefits of sport on white matter appear in vain.
However, the pollutants do not seem to have an effect on the gray matter, which instead constitutes the cerebral cortex, whose volume would therefore remain unchanged.
The carbon dioxide and of particulates, substances classified as highly polluting and capable of permanently damaging health. In the first case we are dealing with a toxic gas generated by combustion, in the second with a set of visible particles or not classified as particulates. Both contaminants easily come into contact with those who practice outdoor sports, thus ending up in the air we breathe. Even nitrogen dioxide, despite being a gas, is denser than air and therefore remains trapped at ground level.
Do you have to train indoors? No, the English study does not intend to discourage sportsmen from holing up at home or in the gym. However, it is better to practice outdoor activities away from smog and traffic where you can really benefit from sport, nature and truly healthy air.
Fonte: American Academy of Neurology
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