Getting older doesn’t mean that your brain can’t stay sharp.

You already know about some of the natural ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. And you know that you can reverse your brain’s age with the right foods.

But there are also other more common and less serious conditions—like brain fog—that make life difficult.

Simple things become confusing. Specific details are harder to remember. This can include anything from family members’ birthdays to where you left your car keys.

It may be more than brain fog. These could be early warning signs of dementia.

But fighting off dementia and brain fog doesn’t mean that you have to make drastic changes to your lifestyle.

There’s a simple way to ease these problems if you already face them. And it may also help prevent them in the first place.

New research shows that seniors who get enough of this are able to significantly reduce the symptoms of cognitive decline.

We’re talking about exercise.

You know that it comes with impressive benefits to your heart. It’s also a great way to keep bones and muscles strong. But this research claims that it may also clear brain fog and improve mental function.

A review of 16 clinical trials shows that regular exercise helps to significantly reduce the effects of dementia and general cognitive decline in 55 percent of seniors.1 That’s more than half!

And it doesn’t have to be rigorous exercise. Researchers looked at traditional exercise like swimming and cycling. But they also included dancing, yoga, and tai chi.

How you get your exercise doesn’t matter. Getting enough of it regularly is what matters the most.

Researchers aren’t sure exactly how the exercise improves cognitive function. But previous studies show that exercise can increase the amount of neurotrophins in the brain based on intensity.2 These are proteins that support brain plasticity, which determine how well we can learn new things. They also play a big role in our memory.3

Keep in mind, this study did not take diet or sleep into account. Both of these are very important to brain function. They’re essential to avoiding diseases like Alzheimer’s. Even though exercise alone was effective, you cannot ignore these factors. Synergy is the best solution.

But the study also shows that regular exercise helped 70 percent of participants complete activities of daily living more easily. This includes things we may not give a second thought to, like eating, bathing, and walking. It also includes potentially frustrating and embarrassing elements like continence and dressing.

The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how you choose to get active. But regular exercise may be one of the most important things you can do to preserve your mental—and physical—health as you get older.

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References:
1 http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD006489/exercise-programs-for-people-with-dementia
2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17414812
3 http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/plast.html