04 Nov Exercise – another plus!
Interesting (but small) study on the effects of exercise on the brain in the over 70s. A recent paper suggests that regular exercise into old age can help reduce brain shrinkage. Brain shrinkage is not only linked with being forgetful and poor thinking, but also may have a link with Alzheimers.
Fairly obvious really I guess, as increased levels of blood and oxygen can only have a positive effect on any tissue of the body. However, not as comforting was the conclusion that exercising the brain in activities such as crosswords or reading, actually has no physiological benefit on maintaining brain size!
I hope more research is done in this fascinating area, after all we have already proven that exercise in middle age can a have a significant effect on reducing the likelihood of dementia in later years.
So, put that book down and go for a walk or a bike ride. It might result in a few minor musculo-skeletal injuries but it’ll be worth it, and anyway we can sort those out for you here at Openhealth Clinic.
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