Moderate exercise 'boosts memory power'

This story appeared recently on the BBC website based on research done in the USA. What it shows is that moderate exercise increased the size of the hippocampus, an area of the brain that makes memories, in 120 volunteers. While it was based on a test group walking, I presume it would extend to other forms of exercise.


"Professor Kirk Erickson and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh in the US set out to investigate the impact that even moderate exercise might have on preserving memory.

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% in people who did regular aerobic exercise. The same region of the brain decreased in volume by 1.4% in those who did stretching exercises, consistent with the decrease seen in normal ageing."

Full story HERE