Until a few years ago, scientists thought seniors couldn’t grow more brain cells. In fact, they insisted it was just the opposite.
Past a certain age, brain cells start to burn out… sometimes rapidly… causing your memory to flame out.
That leads to so-called “senior moments” early on. But as more cells switch off, you could be facing cognitive impairment and decline. And eventually, in some cases, it can lead to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
But now all bets are off. Because we know that the so-called “irreversible” slide is not set in stone.
And the latest research reveals what may be the easiest way yet to not only preserve essential brain matter but to actually…
- GROW new brain cells
- RESTORE memory
- RESERVE cognitive function
And you can pull this brain-saving miracle off in just two effortless hours a week.
Unlock your brain’s potential
OK, brace yourself. I’m going to use the “E” word. But don’t start groaning just yet.
Because this ISN’T what most people think of when they hear the word “exercise.” I promise.
It won’t have you pumping weights at the gym or doing pushups. Instead, the new study focused on ordinary walking to boost memory.
It turns out simply moving along at a brisk pace… whether it’s taking a spin around the neighborhood or hoofing it through the hills for a hike… can unlock a critical process in the brain in ways other activities can’t.
It’s called neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is your brain’s ability to replace the essential cells needed for memory, cognition, and more.
The older volunteers in the new study were all relatively healthy. But like a lot of folks, they didn’t get much exercise. And being sedentary is a key risk factor for cognitive struggles, including memory loss.
Some of the participants were asked to do balance and stretching exercises to act as a control group. Others were assigned to a dance class to give them a high-intensity aerobic workout. And the rest of the volunteers were told to simply walk.
Step away from memory loss
Each group did their assigned activity three times a week for 40 minutes.
Now you might think that the dancers would have made the most gains in their brain health and memory with the increased intensity of their workouts. But they didn’t.
In fact, the walkers won by every measure. Over the six months, they had healthier white matter and better scores on cognitive tests than the other two groups.
Plus, the walkers had fewer worrying lesions or signs of damage in the brain that can lead to decline and memory loss. In many ways, it looks as if walking helped the brain repair itself.
Both the walkers and dancers had improvements in overall aerobic fitness too. So they’re both worthwhile forms of exercise, of course.
But the dancers didn’t get those extra brain-boosting benefits during the length of the study. This difference may be because dancing is a stop-and-start activity while the walking was a steady movement across the entire 40 minutes.
The folks in the control group who did the balance and stretching exercises did worst of all. They lost essential white matter and had more thinning in the axons or the fibers that connect neurons. Even more alarming, their cognitive scores fell.
In other words, if you DON’T move it, you do in fact lose it… as in brain cells and memory.
An ordinary walk won’t just boost your brain health and improve your memory either. It can also cut your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and even early death.
In fact, THIS super simple walking trick could slash premature death risk by 24 percent. So go ahead and lace up the sneakers and hit the pavement (or the mall if it’s still too hot outside).
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