'Smart' Incentive to Keep Exercising

“I think the good news – if we take it seriously – is that many of the same factors that can reduce our risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes also reduce the risk for age-related neurodegenerative disorders,” says neuroscientist Mark Mattson from the National Institute on Aging.

As we all age, our chance for brain diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease) increases. However, the exercises we do to keep our body healthy will also keep our brain healthy through the aging process.
-Aging naturally lowers our stress threshold in our brain, which increases the risk of brain disease. Exercise will slow down this natural aging process by helping our brain cells to cope with stress better.

-When exercising, you are sparking connections and growth in your brain’s cell network, which keeps your brain agile and ready to learn. An agile brain is less susceptible to aging brain diseases.

-Exercise not only keeps the brain from deterioration due to aging, but it also reverses it.
That being said, no matter what age or condition, exercise can increase our brain health and protect our mind.

Exercise is one of the few ways to slow down the aging process. Use exercise as a preventative medicine and as an antidote.

* The information for this post can be found in the book Spark by John J. Ratey, M.D.