Here’s an article in the New York Times that suggests ways to improve our thinking. Learning new material, yoga, aerobic exercise and caffeine are all mentioned as ways to stay sharp and in tune. In addition, there’s a link to another article that explains what mental status tests are, how they are performed and what the results mean. Click here for more….

It is now well known that, for rodents, physical exercise is beneficial for brain health. Indeed, mice allowed to freely run on an exercise wheel grow more new neurons that mice not allowed to move freely. Importantly, these new neurons grow in an area crucial for memory formation: the hippocampus.

Neurogenesis (the birth and development of neurons) is difficult to estimate in the human brain as there are no way to directly count new neurons…
Recently, Small and his colleagues (2007) were able to use neuroimaging to study the effect of physical exercise on neurogenesis in humans. Their study involved a group of 11 middle-aged adults who had been exercising about four times a week, for three months. Results show exercise-related changes in the hippocampus, suggesting neurogenesis in this area.

This new study adds to the numerous results showing that physical exercise is good for the brain. Let’s keep moving then!

Read the original article here.
Read a report on the original article here.

For people in their 60s, regular walking appears to lower the risk of dementia.

The finding, published this week in the medical journal Neurology, is the latest study to show that exercise helps delay some of the age related decline of body AND mind.

The recent research tracked the exercise habits of 749 men and women in Italy who were over age 65 and were in good health, with no indication of memory problems at the beginning of the study. After four years, they found that the most-frequent walkers had a 27 percent lower risk for developing vascular dementia than those people who walked the least.

What’s important about the study is that it again shows exercise doesn’t have to be excruciating to reap the benefits. “It’s important to note that an easy-to-perform moderate activity like walking provided the same cognitive benefits as other, more demanding activities,” said study author Dr. Giovanni Ravaglia of University Hospital S. Orsola Malpighi, in Bologna, Italy.

Last year, the Annals of Internal Medicine reported on a study of more than 1,700 adults over 65 that also showed regular walkers have lower dementia risk. In that study, walkers who exercised three or more times a week showed a dementia risk of 13 per 1,000 person years, but the adults who walked less often had a risk of 19.7 per 1,000 person years. That translates to a nearly 40 percent reduction in risk.

Walking may help stave off dementia because it improves cerebral blood flow and lowers the risk of vascular disease. So get out there for a good walk. Your brain, as well as your body, will thank you.

Take the informative Brain Food Quiz at WebMD

Adding years to your life depends on many things – good genes are a start, but certain lifestyle habits can have quite a significant impact. Living longer is one thing, and living a cognitively strong life can be quite another. Health and Medical magazines have long touted the benefits of certain healthy behaviors for body and mind, and this theme is being expressed in an ever more diverse set of publications. I wanted to share an article you from this month’s National Geographic Magazine. In the article “Complex Miracles of Health and Simple Ways to Enhance It”, they profiled three global hotspots of longevity and found living proof of lifestyle’s powerful effect. Check it out at www.nationalgeographic.com/healthyliving. Also discussed are tips for enhancing your own longevity profile including “Seven Basics for a Better Brain”. These include:

• Laugher has been shown to reduce at least four of the neuroendocrine hormones associated with stress response.
• Children who eat more meals with their families feel happier about their lives and prospects for the future
• Breath deeply for five minutes, twice a day
• Drinking more water helps your brain stay focused, think faster, and remember more
• A short, brisk walk helps clear stress hormones from your bloodstream
• Fish rich in omega-3, like salmon, can improve brain function and may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease
• Exercise sends oxygen to your brain – improving memory, reasoning skills and concentration

It’s all a reminder that we have the opportunity to lead long, healthy, active and cognitively strong lives.

Another report on how exercise can help our brain.

“Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in a certain region of the brain that is known to be affected in the age related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans”.

Read more here

Consumer report has 5 tips on keeping your memory sharp, which includes computer based brain games. All great tips which we strongly recommend.

Read here

Here is an article by Dr. Rallie McAllister on the positives of coffee.

“Coffee may have even greater benefits on the human brain, protecting it from degenerative disorders that lead to dementia. Recent studies suggest that habitual coffee drinkers have a lower risk for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease than individuals who abstain”

Read the full artcle here

The Alliance for Aging Research is encouraging Americans to boost their brain health.

“There is a lot we can do to keep our brains healthy and potentially prevent or lessen the cognitive decline that often comes with aging,” Daniel Perry, executive director of the nonprofit Alliance for Aging Research”

You can see the full article here

Here is another report that links exercise and the brain.

“Physical activity may be beneficial to cognition during early and middle periods of the human lifespan and may continue to protect against age-related loss of cognitive function during older adulthood”.

You can see this story in full here