Exercise your brain

Exercise for your Brain!

The brain is the control center of the body, so we need it to stay healthy. It's an organ that is quite complicated and science still doesn’t fully understand everything about it. The brain has a say in everything our body does, so it’s important to do what we can to keep it healthy.

Our brains are an organ made up of tissues and cells like every other organ in our bodies. With any organ, aging takes its toll and leads to a decline in performance. As we age, not being as quick to learn new things and struggling with memory are just two things that can be associated with decline in our brains

As we age, the part of the brain involved in learning and memory, the hippocampus,shrinks in size. The hippocampus is a structure in the temporal lobe. Damage to the temporal lobe can lead to difficulties with understanding what is being said, struggling to retain information, difficulties in paying attention and sometimes emotionally inappropriate behavior.

The good news is that physical exercise is good for our brains and regular physical activity helps boost cognitive health!

Studies in the Preventive medicine journal 2020 have shown that there are links between physical inactivity and cognitive decline which can include things like developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

There is also evidence that physical exercise can help with the chemical side of our brains too. Physical exercise aids in the brain’s production of growth factors, which help with the health of brain cells and also lead to the formation of new blood vessels. Exercise benefits us in terms of our cognitive health by reducing anxiety and stress, improving our emotional well-being and improving our sleep.

The best way to boost your cognitive health is to stay active. Studies have shown that people who get up early and stay active throughout the day are mentally healthier as they get older.

A simple way to boost cognitive health is aerobic exercise(s) such as walking, cycling, swimming and jogging. Such exercises are beneficial because they help lower blood pressure and improve your lung function. Even moderate aerobic exercise is enough to increase your heart rate which means more blood gets to your brain. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week

Something to consider when choosing a physical activity for your brain is picking one that involves coordination, balance and agility. An example might be jumping or skipping rope which helps with fitness and coordination.

Weight training or body weight exercises improve strength, balance and agility and are also very important to boost cognitive health. You can get significant benefits with 15-20 minutes 3 times per week

Being consistent is the key. Something is better than nothing!