Exercise & Fitness10-Minute HIIT Sessions Reverse Aging Hallmarks and Sharpen Cognition in Old Mice
Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center found that just 10 minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), done three times per week for eight weeks, produced broad anti-aging benefits in 24-month-old female mice. The exercise improved two measures of cognitive function, increased mitochondrial complex expression and the longevity-linked proteins PGC1α and SIRT3 across liver, muscle, and brain tissue, elevated the autophagy marker beclin, and reduced the cellular senescence marker p16 in muscle and liver. Telomere length also increased in liver tissue. Separately, sedentary mice with higher frailty scores showed distinctive differences in these same aging hallmarks, linking biological aging mechanisms directly to functional decline. The findings suggest that short, intense exercise sessions can meaningfully slow multiple aging processes simultaneously.
