Is being active healthy for your brain too?

Are you worried about staying sharp as you grow older? Well, worry not because a recent study has found the perfect solution for you. A study was conducted by the Swinburne's Centre for Human Psychopharmacology which found that being physically active helps to keep your brain younger for longer. The lead author said that as we grow older, memory and other aspects of cognition slowly decline.


"Exactly why this occurs is unclear, but research indicates that exercise and physical fitness are protective," he said. "A healthier, more elastic aorta is also theorised to protect cognitive function, by reducing the negative effects of excessive blood pressure on the brain," he continued. "People generally are less fit and have stiffer arteries as they age, which seems to explain the difference in memory ability that is usually attributed to 'getting older'," he added.


He concluded that as long as you remain as physically fit as possible, it will be beneficial and a cost effective way to maintain memory and other brain functions in older age.