Today, you will probably do the best thing for your brain.
When we asked neurologists about the most important behaviors for brain health, they all emphasized the importance of physical activity.
“When considering the biggest bang for your buck, exercise is the most important,” says Gregg Day, M.D., a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic.
numerous studies People who exercise regularly tend to perform better on tests of attention, memory, and executive function. There may be some cognitive improvement. Immediately after exerciseand The effect lasts If people exercise regularly. Staying active doesn’t guarantee you won’t develop dementia, but in the long run it is linked to: reduce risk Its.
Researchers think this Moving your muscles helps your brain This is partly due to special signaling molecules called exerkines. During and after exercise, muscles, fat, and other organs release these molecules into the bloodstream, some of which reach the brain. From there, exerkines go to work, helping to promote the growth of new connections between neurons, brain cell repair, and the birth of new neurons.
Exercise has also been shown to improve blood flow to the brain. This increases the delivery of good things like oxygen, glucose and the amazing exerkines to your brain cells. And it helps remove more bad substances, toxic proteins like amyloid, that can form and damage brain cells and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Kirk Erickson, chair of neuroscience at the AdventHealth Institute, said that all the changes that occur with exercise “are what cause the brain to age more slowly than it would if you were physically inactive.”
These benefits are especially noticeable in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. In older adults, the hippocampus shrinks by 1 to 2 percent per year, making it one of the main areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe that physical activity helps: offset some of that loss.
The best exercise you can do for your brain is consistent exercise, so find something you enjoy and can easily fit into your life.
Walking is one option. Two neurologists I interviewed said they started exercising by walking at least part of the way to the office. Recent research suggests that walking just a few thousand steps a day can reduce your risk of dementia. But it’s important to get your heart rate up, so “walk as if you’re trying to get somewhere on time,” said Linda Selwa, MD, clinical professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Alternatively, any type of physical activity can be beneficial, including swimming, biking, Pilates, weight lifting, yoga, pickleball, dancing, or gardening.
If the idea of working out seems daunting, try combining it with another activity you enjoy, like listening to an audiobook. This is the ‘temptation chaining’ technique that Professor Catherine Milkman, who studies habits at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, refers to.
On day 3, take at least 20 minutes to exercise your brain. If you have an accountability partner nearby, try going for a walk with them. (If not, give it a call and go for a walk.) Or use the tool below to find a new exercise to try. As usual, we can all meet in the comments and catch up on updates.
