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More evidence that well-run wellness programs may want to encourage regular periods of movement and fitness, while minimizing extended periods of sitting.

The good news continues to be that exercise matters. The bad news is that stopping, even for a short period, may not be good news for the brain.

The New York Times reports: “Before you skip another workout, you might think about your brain. A provocative new study finds that some of the benefits of exercise for brain health may evaporate if we take to the couch and stop being active, even just for a week or so.”

The piece cites a new study published in Frontiers and titled “Hippocampal and Cerebral Blood Flow after Exercise Cessation in Master Athletes.” It sought to determine “how short-term exercise cessation impacts cerebrovascular function in healthy highly physically active and physically fit older adults.”

The authors asked their volunteers, who normally exercise quite often, to skip exercise for 10 days. They got a “special brain M.R.I. that tracks how much blood is flowing to various parts of the brain,” before and after the period, according to the NYT.

The piece states: “The results showed striking changes in blood flow now. Much less blood streamed to most of the areas in the runners’ brains, and the flow declined significantly to both the left and right lobes of the hippocampus.”

“Encouragingly, the volunteers did not perform noticeably worse now on the tests of cognitive function than they had at the start. But the results do suggest that the improvements in brain blood flow because of exercise will diminish if you stop training, Dr. Smith says.”

Why does exercise benefit the brain?

The NYT states: “Exercise prompts these changes in large part by increasing blood flow to the brain, many exercise scientists believe. Blood carries fuel and oxygen to brain cells, along with other substances that help to jump-start desirable biochemical processes there, so more blood circulating in the brain is generally a good thing.”

“Exercise is particularly important for brain health because it appears to ramp up blood flow through the skull not only during the actual activity, but throughout the rest of the day.”