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A recent study showed promise that moderate exercise in both 30 and 40 year old men and women leads to improved cognitive function. The study also reported a potential reduced impairment of cognitive function of about 30 – 40% when exercise was present.

This means that as you age your risk for dementia could be greatly reduced if you begin or continue an exercise program. Plus, the study showed that a lot of exercise is not necessary to derive enough benefit to improve cognitive function.

Here is what the investigators reported as a guide to the frequency and intensity of the exercise performed by each participant:

• Light exercise: bowling, leisurely walking, stretching, slow dancing, and golfing using a cart.
• Moderate exercise: brisk walking, hiking, aerobics, strength training, swimming, tennis doubles, yoga, martial arts, weight lifting, moderate use of exercise machines, and golfing without use of a cart.
• Vigorous exercise: jogging, backpacking, bicycling uphill, tennis singles, racquetball, skiing, and intense or extended use of exercise machines

It is best to incorporate more of the moderate to vigorous exercises and as you can see there are many activities to choose from. So in addition to your current weight loss efforts you can also feel good about adding more “brain power” to the mix!

Source:Exercise and Cognitive Aid