Exercise isn’t just good for your body – it’s good for your mind, too! According to the latest research from brain-fitness pioneer Arthur Kramer, anything that raises your heart rate seems to keep your brain fit, too.
Every year, the hippocampus region in your brain, which is key to memory, shrinks about one to two percent, Kramer says. That may seem like a small amount, but that number adds up over time and increases the risk of dementia as the years roll by.
However, new studies reveal that the hippocampi of adults who walked briskly for about 45 minutes three times a week grew by about 2 percent over the course of a year! And all you have to do is exercise three times a week to increase your hippocampus by 2 percent instead of decreasing it!? Yes, and it’s never too late to start exercising, Kramer says. Volunteers in his research were between 55 and 80 years old, many of which hadn’t exercised at all.
It doesn’t have to be strenuous activity – just enough to get your heart rate up. “Walking is just fine,” he adds. “Just find something you like and do it.”
So we’re not just talking about maintaining the size, we can actually reverse the aging process of the brain with exercise. Lace up those running shoes, and get moving!
