Does exercise really keep your brain healthy too?
There’s a strong relationship between fitness and cognition, whatever your age. Working out can give your brain a lift immediately afterwards, and it also appears to have a protective effect on the ability to think clearly as you get older by keeping blood flowing to your head and pumping up the area that handles verbal memory and learning. One study found that young adults who were more aerobically fit were cognitively sharper when they reached midlife. Another found that seniors who got regular moderate to intense exercise held on to more of their mental skills over the next five years than people who did light exercise, or stay-still types. Walking, jogging, cycling using the elliptical trainer, swimming, taking a step-aerobics class, skipping, kickboxing and rowing are all good cardio options – and don’t forget to stretch when you’re done.