What if you had in your possession a tool that could give you instantaneous benefits to your brain?
A tool that could improve your focus and your ability to keep your attention on a task?
A tool that could protect you from dementia, Alzheimer’s, and even depression?
And, finally, a tool that doesn’t cost a thing and that everyone has access to?
Would you use it? Hell yes you would, and hell yes you can because the tool in question is exercise.
Experts are all in agreement that exercise can protect the brain and has immediate and long-lasting effects to it.
A study completed at the University of British Columbia found that regular aerobic exercise boosted the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning. This makes the brain stronger and less susceptible to dementia and Alzheimer’s.
In another newer study published in the journal Neurology: Clinical Practice they discovered that people who exercised about 52 hours over a period of six months had the greatest improvements in various thinking and speed tests.
This was a large sampling of people that they used as well. The data included more than 11,000 older people.
On average, these people exercised for about an hour, three times a week, and the effect to the brain applied to both people without cognitive decline as well as those with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
In another study, published in an online issue of the journal Neurology,they reported that women with higher levels of physical fitness at middle age were nearly 90 per cent less likely to develop dementia decades later (see sidebar).
What type of exercise benefits the brain the best?
Aerobic exercise is backed the most by research.
Some examples include brisk walking, running, circuit training, swimming, bike riding and hiking.
To get the best brain boost aim for 150 minutes a week, working at a moderate-intensity (trainer tip: this is where you can talk, but you couldn’t be bothered to).
My final thought, it is more evident than ever that we need to exercise. All of the research, the data, the information is pointing/yelling/screaming at us to move more.
Our health, and now our brains, can’t wait until later. We have to start now.
PJ Wren is a local personal trainer & writer. You can workout with her online at www.fitnesswithpj.com, or in person at her award-winning group fitness facility, www.thestudio.ca.
