#1 for the Brain
By Editorial Staff
As you get older, you tend to think about brain health more. Maybe it's because it's becoming increasingly apparent that you need to take care of your brain just like you take care of your body.
If you don't, your brain – just like the rest of your body – is prone to decline with age. Not being able to run like you once did? Frustrating. Not being able to remember your children's names? Beyond words.
Exercise is a great way to keep your body healthy, and it's also effective in promoting brain health, suggests research. After tracking 24-hour movements for seven days, researchers discovered that people who spent more time engaged in activity had better short-term memory, problem-solving and processing skills. The biggest brain function influenced by activity, according to the study: executive processes such as planning and organization.
It didn't take much in the way of activity, either: As few as 6-9 minutes of more vigorous physical activity (compared to less vigorous activities like sitting, sleeping or gentle movement) did the trick. The opposite was true as well: replacing that moderate to vigorous physical activity with eight minutes of sitting, six minutes of low activity or seven minutes of sleep reduced cognitive abilities. Findings appear in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
