Improving Memory One Step At A Time

It's no secret that living a couch potato lifestyle-tied--to your television or computer is not good for your health. New research now shows that a simple walk in the park not only improves your waistline, but could give your brain a boost. Brain teasers, eating the right foods, learning something new -- these are all ways to boost your brain power. Now add this to the list. In a new study, neuroscientists and exercise scientists found that a simple walk can improve brain function in older adults. "What we found is that older participants became more fit over a course of a one year period, the connectivity increased between or among different brain regions." Art Kramer, Ph.D., Neuroscientist at the University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign, told Ivanhoe. As we age, some brain functions naturally decline like memory, multi-tasking and planning abilities. Participants in the study who walked at a moderate pace for 40 minutes, three times a week, showed an increase in these functions. "The increases were fairly dramatic, such that at the end of a year of exercise, the older adult's brain connectivity became equivalent of that of younger adults," Dr. Kramer added. Researchers looked at functional MRI brain scans of volunteers in the study, focusing on connections in the brain known as the default mode network or DMN. The more connections in the DMN region, the better performance adults had on cognitive tasks like planning, scheduling, memory and multi-tasking. "It appears if we remain active, remain cardiovascular fit, then those functions, those connections remain in place and indeed can be enhanced as we become fitter," Edward McAuley, Ph.D., Exercise scientist at the University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign, told Ivanhoe. Researchers say it's never too late to get started. "I felt that I could concentrate a little better," Gregory Stanton, a participant in study, told Ivanhoe. A little walking goes a long way. Researchers found that only moderate aerobic activity helped increase connections in the brain, a stretching and toning group in the study did not see significant improvement in brain functions.

 

Thanks to American Institute Of Physics