Why exercise boost your memory

 

Struggling to remember where you left your keys? A run might jog your memory.

Key points:

• When stimulated, muscle cells release protein called cathepsin B
• Exercise increases cathepsin B levels in the blood
• In humans, this increase is linked to better memory

Researchers have identified a protein released by our muscles when we exercise that also stimulates nerve growth in the part of the brain associated with memory.
The study, published in Cell Metabolism, took a unique three-step approach involving cell cultures, mouse models and human experiments.
Lead author Professor Emrah Duzel said while physical activity is known to have impacts on the brain, it has been difficult to pin down the exact mechanism.
"Movement is an important trigger for memory processes," said Professor Duzel, from the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg in Germany.
"Whenever we change our location, our brain expects new information, so there is a hard-wired relationship between bodily movement and cognition."
In the first part of the study, researchers stimulated muscle fibres in a petri dish, then selected any proteins released by this process that were small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier (the membrane that protects the brain from unwanted substances).
From this, they identified a protein called cathepsin B, which they found stimulated the growth of new neurons in the brain's hippocampus — a region associated with memory.
The researchers then studied the effects of exercise on memory and cathepsin B production in both normal mice, and in so-called 'knockout' mice, engineered so their brains were incapable of responding to the cathepsin B protein.
"In the cathepsin B knockout mice, the first observation was that these mice did not learn to navigate as well as control mice," Professor Duzel said.
After exercise, they also noticed these knockout mice had a lot less new nerve growth in the hippocampus, compared to the normal mice.
This suggested the knockout mice were not getting the exercise-related memory benefits because they could not respond to the cathepsin B protein released by their muscles during exercise.

'Couch potato' study also implicates protein as memory booster

The final test was to see if exercise and this protein had the same effect in humans.
For this, they took students who didn't exercise much and subjected them to four months of regular exercise.
Once the "couch potatoes" had become fit, the researchers found the more cathepsin B these students had in their blood, the better they performed on memory tests.
Professor Duzel stressed the interaction between exercise and memory would involve a number of different factors, not just cathepsin B.
Interestingly cathepsin B is known to be secreted by tumours. Some studies previously implicated it in cell death and amyloid plaque formation in the brain, while other studies found the protein was neuroprotective and could clear amyloid plaques.
Lead author Dr Henriette van Praag, a neuroscientist at the National Institute on Aging in the United States thinks different levels of the protein and different physiological conditions can cause it to have different effects.
Meanwhile, Professor Duzel said he had been so convinced the release of cathepsin B after exercise increased memory, he lost five kilograms by increasing his exercise regime since being involved in the study.

Findings could lead to therapeutics to improve brain functions

The discovery also opens the door to studying how the exercise-memory link could be used for therapeutic purposes, for example in people with dementia, commented Associate Professor Olivier Piguet, of Neuroscience Research Australia.

"If we increase the presence of this protein in the brain, that might promote neuronal growth and nerve cell regeneration, it could then lead to some sort of intervention program," said Dr Piguet, who was not involved in the study.

He also pointed out the benefits of stimulating nerve growth in the hippocampus, through the cathepsin B mechanism, might have benefits elsewhere in the brain.
"The hippocampus is one of only two brain regions where we create new nerve cells throughout our lives," Dr Piguet said.
"So it might even go beyond memory function, because we know that these new nerve cells tend to migrate to other brain regions outside memory circuits."

More than 16 million people in the United States live with cognitive impairment. The underlying cause of vascular cognitive impairment, in particular, is caused by problems with blood supply to the brain. Scientists may have found a solution to prevent memory decline in people with this condition, in the form of regular exercise.

Regular exercise may help ward off memory decline in people with vascular cognitive impairment.

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is the second leading cause of dementia - after Alzheimer's disease - accounting for around 10 percent of cases. People with VCI experience deterioration in mental abilities, such as memory, thinking, problem-solving, and language.
VCI develops as a result of reduced blood flow to the brain that damages and eventually kills brain cells. The death of brain cells causes problems with cognition - memory, thinking, and reasoning.
Blood flow can diminish due to narrowing and blockage of small blood vessels deep in the brain, through a major stroke, or many mini strokes. In many of these cases, these difficulties are linked to underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and lifestyle choices such as smoking and being overweight.
While there is no specific treatment for VCI or a method to reverse the damage caused to the brain, there are ways to slow down the progression of the condition. Lifestyle changes - such as eating healthily, weight loss, quitting smoking, and regular exercise - can also tackle the underlying cause of high blood pressure.
"Studies have shown that exercise can help reduce the risk of developing memory problems, but few studies have looked at whether it can help people who already have these problems get better or keep from getting worse," says study author Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Ph.D., of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Liu-Ambrose and team aimed to assess what effect an aerobic exercise-training program would have on cognitive and everyday function among 70 adults with VCI with an average age of 74 years.
The study findings were published in Neurology, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The participants were divided into two groups. One group took part in 1-hour exercise classes three times a week for 6 months, while the other group received monthly information about VCI and a healthy diet, but no information on regular exercise.

Exercise improved thinking, blood pressure, cardiovascular capacity

Overall thinking skills, executive function skills - such as planning and organizing and how well daily tasks were completed - were assessed in participants before the study, on study completion, and then again 6 months later.
Compared with the non-exercise group, the training group experienced blood pressure improvement and improved on a test to measure overall cardiovascular capacity by logging the distance they could walk in 6 minutes. This finding is important as high blood pressure is a risk factor for developing VCI, say the researchers.
The research team discovered that the people in the exercise-training group improved on the overall thinking test by 1.7 points, compared with those who took part in zero physical activity.

"This result, while modest, was similar to that seen in previous studies testing the use of drugs for people with vascular cognitive impairment. However, the difference was less than what is considered to be the minimal clinically important difference of three points."

Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Ph.D.

When the training group was assessed after 6 months - on cessation of the exercise program - their scores were the same as those people who had not exercised. No differences were observed between the two groups, during any of the assessment stages, for tests of executive function skills and daily activities.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Alexandra Foubert-Samier, Ph.D., says that despite the limitations of the study, "the results of this work provide a proof of concept of the effect of physical activities on cognition in patients with VCI and encourage further studies on larger groups of people with VCI."
Future work may test further whether exercise can improve thinking skills in VCI. Larger samples may detect differences in specific thinking abilities such as a person's ability to plan and manage their finances.
Read about how high blood pressure raises the risk of cognitive decline in dementia.

Written by Hannah Nichols

 A strong memory depends on the health and vitality of your brain. Whether you're a student studying for final exams, a working professional interested in doing all you can to stay mentally sharp, or a senior looking to preserve and enhance your grey matter as you age, there are lots of things you can do to improve your memory and mental performance.

Improving your memory: 9 tips for boosting brain power at any age

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain, scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isn’t true. The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change—even into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways.
The brain’s incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new information, and improve your memory at any age. These 9 tips can show you how:

1. Give your brain a workout
2. Don't skip the physical exercise
3. Get your Zs
4. Make time for friends
5. Keep stress in check
6. Have a laugh
7. Eat a brain-boosting diet
8. Identify and treat health problems
9. Take practical steps to support learning and memory

Tip 1: Give your brain a workout

By the time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you process and recall information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute familiar tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from time to time!
Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to “use it or lose it.” The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. But not all activities are equal. The best brain exercises break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways.

Four key elements of a good brain-boosting activity

1. It teaches you something new. No matter how intellectually demanding the activity, if it’s something you’re already good at, it’s not a good brain exercise. The activity needs to be something that’s unfamiliar and out of your comfort zone. To strengthen the brain, you need to keep learning and developing new skills.
2. It’s challenging. The best brain-boosting activities demand your full and close attention. It’s not enough that you found the activity challenging at one point. It must still be something that requires mental effort. For example, learning to play a challenging new piece of music counts. Playing a difficult piece you’ve already memorized does not.
3. It’s a skill you can build on. Look for activities that allow you to start at an easy level and work your way up as your skills improve —always pushing the envelope so you continue to stretch your capabilities. When a previously difficult level starts to feel comfortable, that means it’s time to tackle the next level of performance.
4. It’s rewarding. Rewards support the brain’s learning process. The more interested and engaged you are in the activity, the more likely you’ll be to continue doing it and the greater the benefits you’ll experience. So choose activities that, while challenging, are still enjoyable and satisfying.

Think of something new you’ve always wanted to try, like learning how to play the guitar, make pottery, juggle, play chess, speak French, dance the tango, or master your golf swing. Any of these activities can help you improve your memory, so long as they keep you challenged and engaged.

What about brain-training programs?

There are countless brain-training apps and online programs that promise to boost memory, problem-solving, attention, and even IQ with daily practice. But do they really work? Increasingly, the evidence says no. While these brain-training programs may lead to short-term improvements in whatever task or specific game you’ve been practicing, they don’t appear to do anything to strengthen or improve overall intelligence, memory, or other cognitive abilities.

Tip 2: Don't skip the physical exercise

While mental exercise is important for brain health, that doesn’t mean you never need to break a sweat. Physical exercise helps your brain stay sharp. It increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise also enhances the effects of helpful brain chemicals and reduces stress hormones. Perhaps most importantly, exercise plays an important role in neuroplasticity by boosting growth factors and stimulating new neuronal connections.

Brain-boosting exercise tips

• Aerobic exercise is particularly good for the brain, so choose activities that keep your blood pumping. In general, anything that is good for your heart is great for your brain.
• Does it take you long time to clear out the sleep fog when you wake up? If so, you may find that exercising in the morning before you start your day makes a big difference. In addition to clearing out the cobwebs, it also primes you for learning throughout the day.
• Physical activities that require hand-eye coordination or complex motor skills are particularly beneficial for brain building.
• Exercise breaks can help you get past mental fatigue and afternoon slumps. Even a short walk or a few jumping jacks can be enough to reboot your brain.

If you are experiencing traumatic stress or find yourself stuck in repetitive, unhealthy behavior...

...Try exercising the muscles connected to fight-or-flight with attention. Exercises that use both your arms and legs—and are done in a focused way with mindful awareness of your physical and emotional experience—are especially good at reducing traumatic stress. Exercises like walking, running, swimming, or rock-climbing, activate your senses and make you more aware of yourself and others when they are done with focused attention.

Tip 3: Get your Zs

There is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by on and the amount you need to function at your best. The truth is that over 95% of adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night in order to avoid sleep deprivation. Even skimping on a few hours makes a difference! Memory, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking skills are all compromised.
But sleep is critical to learning and memory in an even more fundamental way. Research shows that sleep is necessary for memory consolidation, with the key memory-enhancing activity occurring during the deepest stages of sleep.

Get on a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time each morning. Try not to break your routine, even on weekends and holidays.
Avoid all screens for at least an hour before bed. The blue light emitted by TVs, tablets, phones, and computers trigger wakefulness and suppress hormones such as melatonin that make you sleepy.
Cut back on caffeine. Caffeine affects people differently. Some people are highly sensitive, and even morning coffee may interfere with sleep at night. Try reducing your intake or cutting it out entirely if you suspect it’s keeping you up.

Tip 4: Make time for friends

When you think of ways to improve memory, do you think of “serious” activities such as wrestling with the New York Times crossword puzzle or mastering chess strategy, or do more lighthearted pastimes—hanging out with friends or enjoying a funny movie—come to mind? If you’re like most of us, it’s probably the former. But countless studies show that a life full of friends and fun comes with cognitive benefits.

Healthy relationships: the ultimate brain booster

Humans are highly social animals. We’re not meant to survive, let alone thrive, in isolation. Relationships stimulate our brains—in fact, interacting with others may be the best kind of brain exercise.
Research shows that having meaningful friendships and a strong support system are vital not only to emotional health, but also to brain health. In one recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health, for example, researchers found that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline.
There are many ways to start taking advantage of the brain and memory-boosting benefits of socializing. Volunteer, join a club, make it a point to see friends more often, or reach out over the phone. And if a human isn’t handy, don’t overlook the value of a pet—especially the highly-social dog.

Tip 5: Keep stress in check

Stress is one of the brain’s worst enemies. Over time, chronic stress destroys brain cells and damages the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in the formation of new memories and the retrieval of old ones. Studies have also linked stress to memory loss.

Tips for managing stress

• Set realistic expectations (and be willing to say no!)
• Take breaks throughout the day
• Express your feelings instead of bottling them up
• Set healthy a balance between work and leisure time
• Focus on one task at a time, rather than trying to multi-task

The stress-busting, memory-boosting benefits of meditation

The scientific evidence for the mental health benefits of meditation continues to pile up. Studies show that meditation helps improve many different types of conditions, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Meditation also can improve focus, concentration, creativity, memory, and learning and reasoning skills.
Meditation works its “magic” by changing the actual brain. Brain images show that regular meditators have more activity in the left prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with feelings of joy and equanimity. Meditation also increases the thickness of the cerebral cortex and encourages more connections between brain cells—all of which increases mental sharpness and memory ability.

Tip 6: Have a laugh

You’ve heard that laughter is the best medicine, and that holds true for the brain and the memory, as well as the body. Unlike emotional responses, which are limited to specific areas of the brain, laughter engages multiple regions across the whole brain.
Furthermore, listening to jokes and working out punch lines activates areas of the brain vital to learning and creativity. As psychologist Daniel Goleman notes in his book Emotional Intelligence, “laughter… seems to help people think more broadly and associate more freely.”
Looking for ways to bring more laughter in your life? Start with these basics:

Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is to talk about the times when we took ourselves too seriously.
When you hear laughter, move toward it. Most of the time, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and try to join in.
Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily—both at themselves and at life’s absurdities—and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.
Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your loved ones having fun.
Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.

Tip 7: Eat a brain-boosting diet

Just as the body needs fuel, so does the brain. You probably already know that a diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, “healthy” fats (such as olive oil, nuts, fish) and lean protein will provide lots of health benefits, but such a diet can also improve memory. For brain health, though, it’s not just what you eat—it’s also what you don’t eat. The following nutritional tips will help boost your brainpower and reduce your risk of dementia:

Get your omega-3s. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial for brain health. Fish is a particularly rich source of omega-3, especially cold water “fatty fish” such as salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, mackerel, sardines, and herring.
If you’re not a fan of seafood, consider non-fish sources of omega-3s such as seaweed, walnuts, ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, winter squash, kidney and pinto beans, spinach, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans.
Limit calories and saturated fat. Research shows that diets high in saturated fat (from sources such as red meat, whole milk, butter, cheese, cream, and ice cream) increase your risk of dementia and impair concentration and memory.
Eat more fruit and vegetables. Produce is packed with antioxidants, substances that protect your brain cells from damage. Colorful fruits and vegetables are particularly good antioxidant "superfood" sources.
Drink green tea. Green tea contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that protect against free radicals that can damage brain cells. Among many other benefits, regular consumption of green tea may enhance memory and mental alertness and slow brain aging.
Drink wine (or grape juice) in moderation. Keeping your alcohol consumption in check is key, since alcohol kills brain cells. But in moderation (around 1 glass a day for women; 2 for men), alcohol may actually improve memory and cognition. Red wine appears to be the best option, as it is rich in resveratrol, a flavonoid that boosts blood flow in the brain and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Other resveratrol-packed options include grape juice, cranberry juice, fresh grapes and berries, and peanuts.

Tip 8: Identify and treat health problems

Do you feel that your memory has taken an unexplainable dip? If so, there may be a health or lifestyle problem to blame.
It’s not just dementia or Alzheimer’s disease that causes memory loss. There are many diseases, mental health disorders, and medications that can interfere with memory:

Heart disease and its risk factors. Cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, have been linked to mild cognitive impairment.
Diabetes. Studies show that people with diabetes experience far greater cognitive decline than those who don’t suffer from the disease.
Hormone imbalance. Women going through menopause often experience memory problems when their estrogen dips. In men, low testosterone can cause issues. Thyroid imbalances can also cause forgetfulness, sluggish thinking, or confusion.
Medications. Many prescription and over-the-counter medications can get in the way of memory and clear thinking. Common culprits include cold and allergy medications, sleep aids, and antidepressants. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about possible side effects.

Is it depression?

Emotional difficulties can take just as heavy of a toll on the brain as physical problems. In fact, mental sluggishness, difficulty concentrating, and forgetfulness are common symptoms of depression. The memory issues can be particularly bad in older people who are depressed—so much so that it is sometimes mistaken for dementia. The good news is that when the depression is treated, memory should return to normal.

Tip 9: Take practical steps to support learning and memory

Pay attention. You can’t remember something if you never learned it, and you can’t learn something—that is, encode it into your brain—if you don’t pay enough attention to it. It takes about eight seconds of intense focus to process a piece of information into your memory. If you’re easily distracted, pick a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
Involve as many senses as possible. Try to relate information to colors, textures, smells, and tastes. The physical act of rewriting information can help imprint it onto your brain. Even if you’re a visual learner, read out loud what you want to remember. If you can recite it rhythmically, even better.
Relate information to what you already know. Connect new data to information you already remember, whether it’s new material that builds on previous knowledge, or something as simple as an address of someone who lives on a street where you already know someone.
For more complex material, focus on understanding basic ideas rather than memorizing isolated details. Practice explaining the ideas to someone else in your own words.
Rehearse information you’ve already learned. Review what you’ve learned the same day you learn it, and at intervals thereafter. This “spaced rehearsal” is more effective than cramming, especially for retaining what you’ve learned.
Use mnemonic devices to make memorization easier. Mnemonics (the initial “m” is silent) are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by helping us associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word.

6 types of mnemonic device
1. Visual image – Associate a visual image with a word or name to help you remember them better. Positive, pleasant images that are vivid, colorful, and three-dimensional will be easier to remember. Example: To remember the name Rosa Parks and what she’s known for, picture a woman sitting on a park bench surrounded by roses, waiting as her bus pulls up.
2. Acrostic (or sentence) – Make up a sentence in which the first letter of each word is part of or represents the initial of what you want to remember. Example: The sentence “Every good boy does fine” to memorize the lines of the treble clef, representing the notes E, G, B, D, and F.
3. Acronym – An acronym is a word that is made up by taking the first letters of all the key words or ideas you need to remember and creating a new word out of them. Example: The word “HOMES” to remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.
4. Rhymes and alliteration – Rhymes, alliteration (a repeating sound or syllable), and even jokes are a memorable way to remember more mundane facts and figures. Example: The rhyme “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November” to remember the months of the year with only 30 days in them.
5. Chunking – Chunking breaks a long list of numbers or other types of information into smaller, more manageable chunks. Example: Remembering a 10-digit phone number by breaking it down into three sets of numbers: 555-867-5309 (as opposed to 5558675309).
6. Method of loci – Imagine placing the items you want to remember along a route you know well, or in specific locations in a familiar room or building. Example: For a shopping list, imagine bananas in the entryway to your home, a puddle of milk in the middle of the sofa, eggs going up the stairs, and bread on your bed.

5 Simple Tricks to Sharpen Thinking and Memory Skills

Using these memory-enhancing techniques can help improve your ability to learn new information and retain it over time.
Repeat
One of the golden rules of learning and memory is repeat, repeat, repeat. The brain also responds to novelty, so repeating something in a different way or at a different time will make the most of the novelty effect and allow you to build stronger memories. Examples of using repetition include:

• Taking notes
• Repeating a name after you hear it for the first time
• Repeating or paraphrasing what someone says to you

Organize
A day planner or smart phone calendar can help you keep track of appointments and activities and can also serve as a journal in which you write anything that you would like to remember. Writing down and organizing information reinforces learning.

• Try jotting down conversations, thoughts, experiences.
• Review current and previous day’s entries at breakfast and dinner.
• If you use a planner and not a smart phone, keep it in the same spot at home and take it with you whenever you leave.

Visualize
Learning faces and names is a particularly hard task for most people. In addition to repeating a person’s name, you can also associate the name with an image. Visualization strengthens the association you are making between the face and the name. For example:

• Link the name Sandy with the image of a beach, and imagine Sandy on the beach.

Cue
When you are having difficulty recalling a particular word or fact, you can cue yourself by giving related details or “talking around” the word, name, or fact. Other practical ways to cue include:

• Using alarms or a kitchen timer to remind you of tasks or appointments.
• Placing an object associated with the task you must do in a prominent place at home. For example, if you want to order tickets to a play, leave a newspaper ad for the play near your telephone or computer.

Group
When you’re trying to remember a long list of items, it can help to group the items in sets of three to five, just as you would to remember a phone number. This strategy capitalizes on organization and building associations, and helps to extend the capacity of our short-term memory by chunking information together instead of trying to remember each piece of information independently. For example:

• If you have a list of 15 things on your grocery list, you can group the items by category, such as dairy, produce, canned goods, and frozen foods.

 We don’t just lose muscle over time — our brains can atrophy, too. More specifically, your brain's cognitive reserve — its ability to withstand neurological damage due to aging and other factors without showing visible signs of slowing or memory loss — diminishes through the years. That can make it more difficult to perform mental tasks. But just as weight workouts add lean muscle to your body and help you retain more muscle in your later years, researchers now believe that following a brain-healthy lifestyle and performing regular, targeted brain exercises can also increase your brain's cognitive reserve.

The Healthy Brain: A Multifaceted Approach

In one of the most detailed studies on the connection between lifestyle and dementia risk to date, researchers found that people who participate in multiple healthy behaviors significantly reduce their risk for dementia. The 2013 study, published in PLOS ONE, looked at 2,235 men for 30 years and measured their participation in five healthy lifestyle behaviors: non-smoking, optimal BMI, high fruit and vegetable intake, regular physical activity, and low to moderate alcohol intake. The study participants who followed four or all five of the behaviors were about 60 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment and dementia.

Related: 11 Early Signs of Dementia
"Approaches to brain health include a well-balanced diet low in fat, low in cholesterol, and high in antioxidants," says Robert Bender, MD, medical director of the Johnny Orr Memory Center and Healthy Aging Institute in Des Moines, Iowa.
In addition to good nutrition, regular exercise can promote vascular health to help protect brain tissue. Avoiding ruts and boredom is also critical. "The brain wants to learn new things," says Dr. Bender, noting that some researchers believe that people are more vulnerable to dementia when they pay less attention to the things around them. "When the brain is passive, it has a tendency to atrophy," he adds. For this reason, sedentary and relatively passive activities, such as sitting in front of a TV for hours a day, can be detrimental to brain health over time.

10 Real-World Brain Exercises That Work

On top of a healthy diet and regular exercise, there are ways to give your brain its own workout routine — without emptying your wallet. Although brain training software is everywhere these days, it has yet to show any significant neurological benefits for older adults. In a 2014 review published in PLOS Medicine, Australian researchers looked at 52 different studies on computerized cognitive training on a total 4,885 participants and found that the games are not particularly effective in improving brain performance.
Experts recommend sticking to brain training that involves real-world activities. Exercises to strengthen brain function should offer novelty and challenge. "Almost any silly suggestion can work," says David Eagleman, PhD, neuroscientist and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. "Drive home via a different route; brush your teeth with your opposite hand. The brain works through associations [which is why it's easier to memorize lyrics to a song than it is to try and remember the same words without music], so the more senses you involve the better."
Your morning newspaper is a great place to start. "Simple games like Sudoku and word games are good, as well as comic strips where you find things that are different from one picture to the next," says John E. Morley, MD, director of St. Louis University's Division of Geriatric Medicine and author of The Science of Staying Young. In addition to word games, Dr. Morley recommends the following exercises to sharpen your mental skills:

1. Test your recall. Make a list — of grocery items, things to do, or anything else that comes to mind — and memorize it. An hour or so later, see how many items you can recall. Make items on the list as challenging as possible for the greatest mental stimulation.
2. Let the music play. Learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Studies show that learning something new and complex over a longer period of time is ideal for the aging mind.
3. Do math in your head. Figure out problems without the aid of pencil, paper, or computer; you can make this more difficult — and athletic — by walking at the same time.
4. Take a cooking class. Learn how to cook a new cuisine. Cooking uses a number of senses: smell, touch, sight, and taste, which all involve different parts of the brain.
5. Learn a foreign language. The listening and hearing involved stimulates the brain. What’s more, a rich vocabulary has been linked to a reduced risk for cognitive decline.
6. Create word pictures. Visualize the spelling of a word in your head, then try and think of any other words that begin (or end) with the same two letters.
7. Draw a map from memory. After returning home from visiting a new place, try to draw a map of the area; repeat this exercise each time you visit a new location.
8. Challenge your taste buds. When eating, try to identify individual ingredients in your meal, including subtle herbs and spices.
9. Refine your hand-eye abilities. Take up a new hobby that involves fine-motor skills, such as knitting, drawing, painting, assembling a puzzle, etc.
10. Learn a new sport. Start doing an athletic exercise that utilizes both mind and body, such as yoga, golf, or tennis.

Soon people will realize that they can take steps to keep their brains healthy, just as they know they can prevent heart disease by taking certain actions, says Bender. "In the coming decade, I predict brain wellness to be right up there with heart health — now that there's proof that living a brain-healthy lifestyle works!”

Many studies have confirmed that exercise helps prevent cognitive decline and staves off dementia. According to research published in the journal Neurology, moderate to intense exercise can slow brain aging by as much as 10 years!1,^2,3 But what is it about moving your body that helps you maintain sharp brain function?
Researchers have discovered a number of different mechanisms behind this body-brain link. One, perhaps key, factor is how exercise affects brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is found in both your muscles and your brain.

Exercise Preserves and Grows Brain Matter

Exercise initially stimulates the production of a protein called FNDC5. This protein in turn triggers the production of BDNF, which is a remarkable rejuvenator in several respects. In your brain, BDNF:

• Preserves existing brain cells⁴
• Activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons
• Promotes brain growth, especially in the hippocampus area; a region associated with memory

In one study, exercising mice grew an average of 6,000 new brain cells in every cubic millimeter of hippocampal tissue sampled,⁵ and in another,⁶ seniors who walked 30 to 45 minutes, three days per week for one year, increased the volume of their hippocampus by 2 percent.
Typically, your hippocampus tends to shrink with age. The results prompted the authors to claim exercise is "one of the most promising non-pharmaceutical treatments to improve brain health."
Exercise also helps preserve gray and white matter in your frontal, temporal and parietal cortexes, which also helps prevent cognitive deterioration.^7,8 But there's even more to this puzzle.

Exercise, Glucose Depletion and Brain Health

Your brain can use both glucose and fat for fuel, but the latter is preferred. When glucose is depleted from exercise, your hippocampus switches over to use fat as a source of energy, and it is this fuel switchover that triggers the release of BDNF and subsequent cognitive improvement.
This may also help explain why intermittent fasting and a high-fat, low-net carb diet have been shown to produce similar benefits for cognition and brain health as exercise.
Yet another mechanism at play here relates to a substance called β-hydroxybutyrate, which your liver produces when your metabolism is optimized to burn fat as fuel.⁹
When your blood sugar level declines, β-hydroxybutyrate serves as an alternative source of energy. However, β-hydroxybutyrate also blocks histone enzymes that inhibit the production of BDNF. So it seems your body is designed to improve BDNF production via a number of different pathways in response to physical exercise.
As mentioned, BDNF also expresses itself in your neuromuscular system. Here, it protects your neuromotor — which is the most critical element in your muscle — from degradation. Without the neuromotor, your muscle is like an engine without ignition.
Neuromotor degradation is part of the process that explains age-related muscle atrophy. So BDNF is actively involved in both your muscles and your brain, and this cross-connection helps explain why a physical workout can have such a beneficial impact on both muscle and brain tissue.
It, quite literally, helps prevent and even reverse brain decay as much as it prevents and reverses age-related muscle decay. Physical exercise also affects a number of other chemicals associated with brain health.

Exercising 4 Hours Post-Learning Boosts Long-Term Memory Retention

Recent research shows that exercising four hours after learning something new helps you retain what you've just learned long-term. The same effect was not found when the exercise was done immediately after learning.^10,11 
Why this four-hour delay boosted memory retention is still unclear, but it appears to have something to do with the release of catecholamines, naturally occurring chemicals in your body known to improve memory consolidation.
These include dopamine and norepinephrine. One way to boost these catecholamines is through exercise, and apparently delayed exercise is part of the equation.

Source: Current Biology, Physical Exercise Performed Four Hours after Learning Improves Memory Retention and Increases Hippocampal Pattern Similarity during Retrieval, van Dongen et.al.

Other Mechanisms by Which Exercise Boosts Brain Health

The connections between your physical fitness and your brain health run deep. Other mechanisms by which exercise protects and boosts your brain health include the following:

Normalizing insulin resistance Exercise is one of the most effective ways to normalize your insulin level and lower your risk of insulin resistance. In addition to lowering your risk for diabetes, this also helps protect your cognitive health, as diabetes is linked to a 65 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's.12 In addition to regulating your blood sugar level, insulin actually plays a role in brain signaling as well. When researchers disrupted the proper signaling of insulin in the brain, it resulted in dementia.13

Improving and increasing blood flow to your brain Your brain needs a significant supply of oxygen to function properly, which helps explain why what is good for your heart and cardiovascular system is also good for your brain. The increased blood flow that results from exercise allows your brain to almost immediately function better. As a result, you tend to feel more focused after a workout, which can improve your productivity at work and at home.

Reducing plaque formation By altering the way damaging proteins reside inside your brain, exercise may help slow the development of Alzheimer's disease. In one animal study, significantly fewer damaging plaques and fewer bits of beta-amyloid peptides, associated with Alzheimer's, were found in mice that exercised.14

Decreasing Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) BMP slows down the creation of new neurons, thereby reducing neurogenesis. If you have high levels of BMP, your brain grows slower and less nimble. Exercise reduces the impact of BMP, so that your adult stem cells can continue performing their vital functions of keeping your brain agile. In animal research, mice with access to running wheels reduced the BMP in their brains by half in just one week.15,16

Boosting Noggin Exercise also results in a notable increase in another brain protein called Noggin, which acts as a BMP antagonist. So exercise not only reduces the detrimental effects of BMP, it simultaneously boosts the more beneficial Noggin as well. This complex interplay between BMP and Noggin appears to be a powerful factor that helps ensure the proliferation and youthfulness of your neurons.

Lowering inflammation Exercise lowers your levels of inflammatory cytokines associated with chronic inflammation and obesity, both of which can adversely impact your brain function.17

Boosting neurotransmitters associated with mind and mood Exercise also boosts natural "feel good" hormones and neurotransmitters associated with mood control, including endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, glutamate and GABA. A study by Princeton University researchers revealed that exercising creates new, excitable neurons along with new neurons designed to release the GABA neurotransmitter, which inhibits excessive neuronal firing, helping to induce a natural state of calm.18 The mood-boosting benefits of exercise occur both immediately after a workout and continue on in the long term.

Metabolizing stress chemicals Researchers have also teased out the mechanism by which exercise helps reduce stress and related depression — both of which are risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Well-trained muscles have higher levels of an enzyme that helps metabolize a stress chemical called kynurenine. The finding suggests that exercising your muscles helps rid your body of harmful stress chemicals.19

Age-Related Cognitive Decline Is Not a Given

Ideally, you'd want to make exercise a regular part of your life from as early on as possible. But it's never too late to start. Even seniors who take up a fitness regimen can improve their cognitive function. For example, a team at the University of Edinburgh followed more than 600 people, starting at age 70, who kept detailed logs of their daily physical, mental and social habits.
Three years later, their brains were imaged for age-related changes, such as brain shrinkage and damage to the white matter, which is considered the "wiring" of your brain's communication system. Not surprisingly, seniors who engaged in the most physical exercise showed the least amount of brain shrinkage.²⁰
Strength training — and working your leg muscles in particular^21,22,23,24 — appears to have a particularly strong impact on brain function and memory. In one study, just 20 minutes of leg strength exercises enhanced long-term memory by 10 percent.^25,26

Having an active lifestyle is really an investment in your future well-being, both physically and mentally. I believe that overall, high-intensity interval training really helps maximize the health benefits of exercise, while simultaneously being the most efficient and therefore requiring the least amount of time. That said, a varied and well-rounded fitness program that incorporates a wide variety of exercises is your best bet.
I also strongly recommend avoiding sitting as much as possible and walking more every day. A fitness tracker can be very helpful for this. I suggest aiming for 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day, in addition to your regular fitness regimen, not in lieu of it.
The science is really clear on this point: you do not have to lose your mind with advancing age. Your brain has the capacity to regenerate and grow throughout your life, and exercise is a really potent strategy that can help ensure your brain continuously rejuvenates with each passing year.