A recent study in Japan found that a 250 mg dose of NMN prevented a decline in walking speed and sleep quality in the elderly.
Supplementing with NMN for 12 weeks prevents the drop in the time it takes to walk 13 feet.
NMN also protects against a decline in sleep quality.
Our walking speed reflects the vitality of our muscle, skeletal, nervous and cardiovascular systems. Our walking speed can predict how long we will live.
After age 65, our pace gradually declines, and eventually the tasks of daily life become more like obstacles. Our enjoyment of life would be greatly reduced.
It is important to maintain muscle, bone, brain and heart health through endurance and resistance training.
Exercise may be the best protection against slow walking. Poor sleep quality and low energy levels may deter many people from exercising consistently. Poor sleep quality and fatigue may be the result of low levels of NAD+.
With this in mind, researchers in Japan evaluated the walking speed and sleep quality of older adults taking the NAD+ enhancing compound NMN.
To measure walking speed, participants were asked to walk about 13 feet (4 meters) at a normal pace.
After taking 250 mg/day of NMN for 12 weeks, participants' walking speed did not change. Walking speed decreased in the placebo group.
NMN prevents a drop in walking speed. The placebo group (blue) showed an increase in the time it took to walk 4 meters after 12 weeks, while the NMN group (red) showed no change.
As shown in the figure, after 12 weeks of aging, the time it took the placebo group to walk 13 feet increased by about 0.3 seconds.
Since the NMN group did not show a decrease in walking speed, these findings suggest that NMN can prevent slow walking.
NMN supplements did not improve other motor function tests, including strength, reaction time, and Short-term Physical Performance Tests (SPPB).
Sleep quality
Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a set of sleep-related questions.
PSQI is designed to assess subjective sleep quality and parameters such as sleep duration, latency, and consistency. Scores range from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating more sleep disturbances.
The study found that supplementing with NMN reduced sleep scores from 3.5 to 3.2. In contrast, scores in the placebo group increased from 3.9 to 4.3. These findings suggest that NMN can improve sleep quality in older adults.
Take NMN to prevent physical decline
A previous study by Igarashi and colleagues showed that taking 250 mg of NMN for 12 weeks increased walking speed, while another study by Kim and colleagues showed that the same regimen did not increase walking speed.
In both studies, participants were 65 years of age and older. In Igarashi's study, people who exercised regularly were excluded.
People who exercised regularly were also excluded from the study.
NMN only seems to counteract physical decline in people who don't exercise regularly. Therefore, older adults who do not exercise may benefit from NMN supplements.
References:
Morifuji, M., Higashi, S., Ebihara, S. et al. Ingestion of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide increased blood NAD levels, maintained walking speed, and improved sleep quality in older adults in a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled study. GeroScience (2024).
