Exercise

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Observations:

How to cut your risk of memory loss
By David S. Martin, CNN
updated 11:35 AM EST, Wed November 9, 2011

...Growing the brain

Using new, more powerful MRI scanners, researchers have shown how even moderate exercise can actually increase the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for forming memories, essentially turning back the clock and making the brain younger.

"We have found this treasure, this amazing phenomenon that the brain can grow," Fotuhi says.

After 50, the brain -- and the hippocampus -- typically begins losing volume. The hippocampus loses 1% of its volume every two years and accelerates up to 2% per year later in life. But this loss is not set in stone.

Dr. Arthur Kramer at the University of Illinois and his colleagues took 120 older adults and put half of them into an exercise group, which walked three days a week, and the other half on a stretching regimen.

After a year, the group that walked had better memory than at the start of the study. More than that, MRI scans showed that hippocampal volume increased, on average, by 2%, effectively making their brains a year or two younger. The brains of the group that stretched continued to age...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/health/keeping-brain-young-memory/index.html

Attention, Couch Potatoes! Walking Boosts Brain Connectivity, Function

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2010) — A group of "professional couch potatoes," as one researcher described them, has proven that even moderate exercise -- in this case walking at one's own pace for 40 minutes three times a week -- can enhance the connectivity of important brain circuits, combat declines in brain function associated with aging and increase performance on cognitive tasks.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100826141327.htm

Natural Compound And Exercise Boost Memory In Mice

ScienceDaily (May 30, 2007) — A natural compound found in blueberries, tea, grapes, and cocoa enhances memory in mice, according to newly published research. This effect increased further when mice also exercised regularly... The compound, epicatechin, is one of a group of chemicals known as flavonols and has been shown previously to improve cardiovascular function in people and increase blood flow in the brain.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070529174815.htm

Walk Much? It May Protect Your Memory Down the Road

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2010) — New research suggests that walking at least six miles per week may protect brain size and in turn, preserve memory in old age, according to a study published in the October 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology... The study found that people who walked at least 72 blocks per week, or roughly six to nine miles, had greater gray matter volume than people who didn't walk as much, when measured at the nine-year time point after their recorded activity. Walking more than 72 blocks did not appear to increase gray matter volume any further.

By four years later, 116 of the participants, or 40 percent, had developed cognitive impairment or dementia. The researchers found that those who walked the most cut their risk of developing memory problems in half...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101013164703.htm

Walking Slows Progression of Alzheimer's

ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2010) — Walking may slow cognitive decline in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease, as well as in healthy adults, according to a study presented November 29 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "We found that walking five miles per week protects the brain structure over 10 years in people with Alzheimer's and MCI, especially in areas of the brain's key memory and learning centers," said Cyrus Raji, Ph.D., from the Department of Radiology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. "We also found that these people had a slower decline in memory loss over five years."... The findings showed across the board that greater amounts of physical activity were associated with greater brain volume. Cognitively impaired people needed to walk at least 58 city blocks, or approximately five miles, per week to maintain brain volume and slow cognitive decline. The healthy adults needed to walk at least 72 city blocks, or six miles, per week to maintain brain volume and significantly reduce their risk for cognitive decline...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101129101914.htm

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