What was I saying? Exercise can help slow cognitive decline
Going blank happens to the best of us. No, really, it does.
Take one of Canada’s biggest brains on brains, Sam Weiss. The head of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute, an award-winning scientist and the guy behind two crucial discoveries about how our brains work, loses the occasional thought, as well. Like the rest of us, Weiss can get distracted and probably more than many of us, his brain is, well, pretty chockablock.
“The hard drive is a little full,” he told me one day with a big grin. “And you just can’t erase parts of it!”
Other research into the brain shows that exercise can stave off the natural decline of the healthy aging brain. It seems as our eyes go and our joints start to creak, our brains get in on the natural aging action by losing volume. It’s just part of the deal of being able to count your decades on more than one hand.
But various studies have found that sedentary adults who get off the couch can increase the volume of their brains, score up to 20-per-cent better on cognitive tests and maybe even grow new brain cells — and really, who couldn’t use a few more of those?
The research into the aging brain continues, but it seems that even an hour or so of moderate exercise a few times a week can help keep your brain sharp.
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