Taking care of your brain health is not something to worry about when you’re older—it’s never too soon to start preventative measures. “The painful truth is that conditions affecting the brain and nervous system cause more death and illness globally than cardiovascular disease, cancers and all other conditions,” says the University of Melbourne. “Disorders affecting the health of our brains continue to be the leading cause of disability globally, but many of these disorders can be prevented by modifying our risk factors. For example, worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia – but nearly 50 per cent of dementia cases can be prevented by taking steps that include maintaining a healthy weight, keeping away from smoking and too much alcohol consumption, as well as learning new hobbies.” Here is one specific thing you can do every day to support your brain health.
RELATED: 5 Daily Habits Can Lower Your Dementia Risk.
Exercise Every Day
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Getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day is important not just for overall health, but specifically for brain health. “Exercise sustains and improves bodily health by expanding the lungs, quickening the circulation, and promoting growth in muscles and bones,” says Joyce Gomes-Osman, PhD, PT, via Harvard Health. “But we know that besides doing all these things, exercise may be made to contribute to brain growth and to the symmetrical development of the mental faculties.”
Exercise and Dementia
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Regular exercise can help prevent dementia, experts say. “Research has shown that people who take regular exercise may be up to 20% less likely to develop dementia than those who don't take regular exercise,” says the Alzheimer’s Society. “This came from some analysis that combined the results of 58 studies into exercise and dementia. It has been shown that going from being inactive to doing some amount of exercise has the biggest impact. Sustaining physical activity throughout midlife also seems to have the best effect on reducing dementia risk.”
Protect Your Memory With Aerobic Exercise
ShutterstockExercise positively impacts the learning and memory part of your brain. “With regular exercise, you can make a major difference in terms of how your body is functioning and, as a result, how your brain is functioning. One of the key places these changes take place is in the hippocampus, which is a very important area of the brain for memory,” neuropsychologist Aaron Bonner-Jackson, PhD, tells the Cleveland Clinic. “In studies of the brain, they find that people who get recommended amounts of exercise see some improvement in their hippocampus, which helps improve learning and memory.”
Exercise and Stress
ShutterstockExercise is a highly effective way to help manage stress. “Exercise is not a direct solution to stress, but it does pacify the experience,” says BYU Life Sciences. “It is important to note that exercise does not decrease stress hormones, but it does decrease the number of stress receptors in the hippocampus. Reducing stress receptors minimizes the effect of stress hormones on the brain, decreasing the impact of stressful experiences.”
RELATED: 7 Daily Ways to Keep Your Brain Young.
Exercise Is Brain Food
ShutterstockEvery time you exercise, you are helping to strengthen your brain. “Exercise increases blood flow to the brain,” says BYU Life Sciences. “Due to its high metabolic demand, the brain demands good circulation, and exercise aids it. An increase in blood flow is not only extremely beneficial, it is essential. Exercise induces good blood flow to deliver all the nutrients required to carry out the brain’s job, while it also increases production molecules important to brain function, including memory.”
Strength Training and Brain Health
ShutterstockResistance training is good for your body and good for your brain. “One of the most important breakthroughs in research around the benefit of weight training concerns the immune system,” says Austin Perlmutter, MD, via Psychology Today. “Specifically, it relates to molecules called myokines, which are tiny signals produced by muscles that can enter and impact the brain. While the research around myokines is still pretty new, the overall idea is simple: resistance training alters levels of a host of chemicals produced by the muscles that may have beneficial effects on the brain.”
