Words Laura Potter. Photograph Gallery Stock
TRAIN YOUR BRAIN
It’s not just muscles that grow when you work them, your brain volume increases, too, new research has found. In the small study of 35 adults with mild cognitive impairment (which can lead to Alzheimer’s), everyone exercised four times a week for six-months. Half stretched, the other half did aerobic exercise. They all had MRI scans before and after, and while brain volume increased for both groups, the aerobic activity group had better preserved total brain volume, increased grey matter volume, and increased directional stretch of brain tissue – all good signs. Aerobic exercisers also showed statistically significant improvements in cognitive performance, while the stretchers saw no change. Brain training has taken on a whole new meaning.