Brain Health: Get Out There and Exercise

Last Updated on April 19, 2021 by Colleen

Exercise May Be Even More Important for Your Brain Health than Food

We see it all around us — the sharp, active person in their 80’s or 90’s. Well, it’s not just an observation. Studies show exercise not only promotes brain health, but it’s even more important to your cognition than your diet!

Exercise Lowers Your Likelihood of Dementia

In fact, in a recent article by the Cleveland Clinic, the authors point to a study published in Neurology that showed increasing your activity level just one standard deviation above the norm decreased the risk of dementia by over 30%.

There are a number of ways exercise helps, explains Dr. Bronner-Jackson in this article published by the Cleveland Clinic.

Promoting cardiovascular health.
Improving blood flow to the brain.
Reducing inflammation.
Lowering levels of stress hormones.
Increasing the thickness of the cerebral cortex
Improving the integrity of your white matter, the nerve fibers that connect areas of the brain’s nerve-cell-rich gray matter.
Promoting neuroplasticity (ability to form new neural connections and adapt throughout life)

Another study the Cleveland Clinic highlights from Neurology shows that exercise is even more important to brain health than the “brain foods” we often read about. To be sure, eating a healthy diet promotes brain health as well, you just want to be active in addition to eating well.

To promote brain health, stay active. And as Michael Pollan says,
“eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Challenging Your Body Means Building Your Brain Health

And, challenging your brain in new ways and with new forms of movement not only helps with brain health but other important building blocks of health, like balance. Summer-friendly activities like paddleboarding, outdoor tai chi, swimming, and hiking rugged trails get us moving, improve our balance, and challenge our brains to learn or improve skills.

Inspiration abounds! What are you looking to do to add activity to your lifestyle? You can likely guess from these photos what Christmas present team ZEGO will be playing with on sunny days this summer!