Forgetful? A little gentle exercise every day can help improve your memory.
Light workouts create new connections in the areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, that are responsible for memory.
Exercise, such as walking, yoga and tai chi, may not make you sweat, but it is making a difference to your brain, say researchers from the University of California at Irvine. They scanned the brains of 36 young adults before and after 10 minutes of light exercise and discovered new connections between the hippocampus and cortical regions of the brain were already being created.
The hippocampus is vital for memory recall and is one of the first areas to deteriorate with Alzheimer’s disease.
It could be that light exercise, which everyone of us can do, can also reduce the risk of cognitive decline as we get older.
(Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018; 201805668)
