Stay Sharp
When compared to people with low levels of physical activity, people who exercise are less likely to develop problems linked with cognitive decline or dementia that is often associated with aging and disease. Exercise gets your heart pumping which helps keep your brain cells fully supplied with oxygen, nutrition and energy. In addition, physically active people tend to have more receptors in their brain’s neural network which makes for better mental processing. Physically active people have less brain shrinkage as they age. They even have a greater ability to generate fresh brain cells – a process called neurogenesis – well into their senior years. You truly have to use it or lose it. While physical activity jumpstarts your brain activity, it helps keep your heart healthy, too.