Exercise and the Brain

Moderate exercise increased the size of the hippocampus, an area of the brain that makes memories, in 120 volunteers,BBC health reported.

The year-long trial, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed performance on memory tests also improved.


Exercise may buffer against dementia as well as age-related memory loss. The latest work looked at healthy people in their 60s rather than people with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.

Even modest exercise may improve memory and help protect the brain from normal decline caused by ageing.

They split their 120 volunteers into two groups. One group was asked to begin an exercise regimen of walking around a track for 40 minutes a day, three days a week, while the others were limited to doing simple stretching and toning exercises.

Brain scans and memory tests were performed at the start of the study, halfway through the study and again at the end.

Scans revealed hippocampus volume increased by around 2 per cent in people who did regular aerobic exercise. The same region of the brain decreased in volume by 1.4 per cent in those who did stretching exercises, consistent with the decrease seen in normal ageing.

Both groups showed some improvement over time on memory tests. In the walking group, the improvement appeared to be linked with increased size of the hippocampus.

Increasing evidence suggests regular exercise and a healthy diet may help reduce risk of developing dementia as well as reaping numerous other benefits from living a healthy lifestyle.