New Proof That Exercise Beefs Up Your Brain

Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed*** and may vary from person to person***.

Physical activity increases brain structures and improves cognition.Experts at a major scientific meeting last weekend explored a link that is now firmly rooted in proof: exercise beefs up your brain. Physical activity not only improves your body and heart, but it also increases brain structures and improves cognition.

These are some serious brain-changing findings we’ve discovered in the past decade or so. Our modern society is slipping toward a sedentary one, with work and leisure activities both involving a lot of sitting. A lack of exercise is a huge risk factor for the diseases we’ve seen escalating over the decades: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer.

RECOMMENDED: Top six risk factors for memory loss.

While exercise helps protect against these serious problems, it also has a direct and fast impact on brain health and cognition. Results have been rolling in from plenty of studies. They show that regular exercise—not even difficult stuff, just walking three times a week—is known to boost brainpower.

The research proves older adults who participate in fitness training and physical activity benefit from significant improvements in their brain structure and function. Scientists have used a variety of non-invasive ways to study the brain and arrive at these important conclusions.

If we want to work out our brain, we can do more than finish crossword puzzles (which is also a useful technique): we can work out our bodies. Anyone at higher risk of dementia would be wise to make sure exercise is part of their weekly routine.

Sources for Today’s Articles:
New Proof That Exercise Beefs Up Your Brain
“The research is in: Physical activity enhances cognition,” University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, February 16, 2013.