Another reason to exercise? Brain benefits

There is growing evidence that regular aerobic exercise can help improve cognitive function, things like thinking, problem solving and reasoning. Zumba instructor Damaris DeJesus leads the Zumba Gold class at the Spurlino YMCA in Gibsonton. [LUIS SANTANA | Times] If the promise of losing weight hasn’t propelled you off the couch and into the gym, maybe this will. There’s a bounty of research that says exercise benefits the brain in ways that may delay or prevent dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and the inevitable mind-muddling effects of aging on the brain. The human brain reaches its functioning pinnacle sometime in our 20s. After that, thinking and processing skills slowly begin to decline. The older we get, the more we notice little slips, like walking into a room and forgetting why you’re there, not being able to recall the three things on your grocery list or, even worse, oops — forgetting to pick up the kids. We’ve all had those moments. It’s a natural part of aging. By the time you reach your 40s you can’t help but notice you have to work a little harder to retain and recall new information. In your 50s and beyond it takes longer to learn new, seemingly simple tasks and to organize projects. Even concentrating on conversations and in meetings becomes challenging. But what if you could do something that might delay mental decline or improve your current thinking skills? The answer may be as simple as adopting a more active lifestyle. Experts are still studying why exercise improves thinking and cognitive function, but it probably has to do with increasing blood flow to the brain and generally reducing chronic inflammation in the body. Some studies have shown that it also increases the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that’s involved with […]

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