“A walk a day keeps Alzheimer’s away!”

No joke.

A recent study by the Edinburgh University showed that people over 70 who walked during the week had less brain shrinkage then those who were sedentary. Researchers followed nearly 700 people for 3 years, performing before-and-after brain MRI’s to determine their findings.

The study also claimed that reading books or doing crossword puzzles does not seem to help as much as regular, non-strenuous exercise.

Seniors who walked during the week had less damage to the inner part of the brain (i.e.: the white matter) and they had more outer brain (i.e.: gray matter).

So it appears you can increase your brain size with even a mild form of regular exercise.

A Harvard Medical School article stated that a review of literature on depression examined evidence going back to 1981 and concluded that in younger and older patients with depression, regular walking was an effective treatment for emotional problems.

It appears something even as simple as daily walks can significantly enhance mental and emotional well being.

If you are simply starting out with an exercise program, walking 3 to 5 days per week is enough to see a boost in your brain’s health.

As time goes on, a good idea is to diversify your activities. Joining a local recreation centre offers access to swimming, weight lifting and other fitness activities. This keeps you interested and it keeps your brain and body adapting to new acitivities. Which increases the degree to which your brain grows and benefits from an active lifestyle.

So you see, it’s easy to make your brain healthy and stave off unwanted ailments!

Get out there and enjoy a nice walk today.