Few things are as unconditionally healthy as exercise. Besides the instant gratifications of losing weight, building muscle and simply feeling great, it protects against a host of deadly afflictions, especially as we age.
Most of the obvious ones are physical — heart disease, diabetes, cancer. But it also staves off the various mental ails we call dementia.
Exercise and Cognitive Decline
Studies suggest that exercise is one of the best ways to prevent cognitive decline in our golden years. The data consistently show that people who are more active are more likely to retain their memory and thinking skills. That goes for physical activity of any kind, it seems, but aerobic exercise — anything that raises your heart rate — appears to be best.
Precisely what it is about engaging the body that enhances the mind is unclear, but there are a few theories. Exercise is accompanied by a boost in the protein BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is thought to promote the formation of new neurons and minimize the loss of existing ones — especially in the hippocampus, one of the brain’s main memory centers. Also, as the heart pumps faster and blood flow increases, more oxygen makes its way to the brain, where it serves many vital functions.
