Caregivers know that strong legs matter. Strong legs help older adults stand up. They help with balance. They lower the risk of falls.
But there’s more to the story. Stronger legs have been linked with healthier brain aging. Squats are one way to build leg strength.
Researchers at King’s College London studied 324 healthy female twins for over ten years. The twins were between 43 and 73 years old at the start. Some pairs were identical twins, meaning they shared the same genes. This let researchers rule out genetics as the cause of any brain differences.
The team measured leg power at the start of the study. Then they scanned twin brains 12 years later. The twin with stronger legs had more grey matter, the brain tissue that handles thinking and memory. She also scored better on memory and thinking tests. Twins with the biggest leg-strength gap showed another difference too. The weaker-legged twin had larger fluid-filled spaces in the brain, called ventricles. Bigger ventricles usually mean more brain shrinkage.
The conclusion: leg power predicts both memory and brain structure, even after ruling out genetics and childhood environment.
The Hippocampus
To understand why this matters, it helps to know how the brain typically ages. One brain area is especially important for memory. It’s called the hippocampus.
The hippocampus tends to shrink with age. That shrinking speeds up in people with dementia. In fact, the rate of hippocampal shrinkage can help predict when dementia symptoms may start.
This shrinkage happens alongside other age-related changes. Inflammation, the body’s response to stress or damage, tends to increase with age. Cells also build up wear and tear over time, sometimes called oxidative damage. This is like rust building up inside the body’s cells. On top of that, a protein called tau can build up around brain cells in some people. This buildup is linked to memory problems and is common in diseases like Alzheimer’s. Together, these changes work against healthy brain connections, especially in memory-related areas.
This is the backdrop the King’s College London study points to. Leg strength was linked to a healthier brain overall, at a stage of life when the brain faces real headwinds.
How Squats Actually Affect the Brain
So how does a leg workout reach the brain? Researchers point to a few connected processes.
Muscles send chemical signals. Large leg muscles don’t just move the body. They also act like a gland, meaning they release helpful substances into the blood when they work hard. These substances are called myokines. Think of them as chemical messages sent from the muscles. Myokines travel through the blood. They reach the brain. Once there, they may support brain cell health and help reduce inflammation.
Squats support blood flow. Squats work large muscle groups at once. Movements like this tend to raise heart rate and blood flow more than small, isolated movements do. Better blood flow means more oxygen and nutrients can reach the brain over time.
Movement may support memory circuits. Weight-bearing exercise appears to help maintain connections between brain cells. Researchers believe this matters most in memory-related areas, since those are the connections aging and dementia tend to break down.
Together, these processes offer a possible explanation for the twin study results. Stronger legs may not just be a marker of a healthier lifestyle. They may actively help protect the brain through these chemical signals and better blood flow.
Watch this video from Dr. David Jockers on How To Do Super Brain Squats.
What This Means for Daily Caregiving
You don’t need a gym to make this work. Small, safe movements can help.
Try sit-to-stand exercises from a sturdy chair. This is a squat in disguise. It uses the same large muscles and may trigger the same processes in the brain.
Always check with the care team first. Make sure any exercise fits the person’s ability and safety needs. Use a stable chair or rail for support. Go slow. Celebrate small wins.
FAQ Section
Q: Is it safe for all older adults to do squats? A: Not always. Always check with a doctor or physical therapist first. Some health conditions may need modified movements.
Q: How many squats should someone do each day? A: There’s no single number that fits everyone. Start small. A few sit-to-stands, a few times a day, is a safe starting point. Build up slowly with guidance from a care professional.
Q: What if the person I care for uses a wheelchair or can’t stand? A: Seated leg exercises can still help. Ask a physical therapist for safe options that fit their ability level.
Q: Can squats really help prevent dementia? A: No single exercise can prevent dementia. But research links leg strength and regular resistance training to slower brain aging. It’s one healthy habit among many, not a guaranteed fix.
