Originally published October 3 2005
British doctors advocate mental and physical exercise to keep the brain healthy and young
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
At the British Association Science Festival, researchers announced the healthy benefits of puzzles, crosswords and physical exercise in creating new brain cells and blood vessels, helping to prevent the aging of the brain and promote mental sharpness.
BRAIN exercises can cut years off the mental age of the over-60s, improving memory and delaying decline, the British Association science festival was told yesterday.
"We are all getting healthier and living longer, but the biggest threat as the population ages is to the function of the brain."
Over-60s who took part in a four-month programme of aerobic exercise --- enough to make them breathe harder, and their heart to beat faster --- showed improvements in mental abilities.
The benefits were esp- ecially marked in the frontal lobes of the brain, which are involved in the ability to organise, make decisions, show initiative, have a sense of humour, pay attention and remember things.
Exercise works by generating a chemical that encourages the growth of new brain cells and new brain connections; by increasing serotonin levels, which control mood; and by causing new blood vessels to grow to nourish the brain.
"For the over-50s, exercise is a sort of wonder-drug that makes you more mentally agile, less forgetful and delays the loss of sharpness," Professor Robertson said.
"One of the reasons our memories let us down as we get older is that we don't attack the information with the same brain vigour as when we were young," he said.
"As the population ages, people are going to have to stay mentally active longer.
# Imagine going on a familiar walk and associating each item on the list with a landmark on the walk.
Long lists of digits, such as telephone numbers, are easier to remember in groups of three.
"We can drive to work and not remember a single thing about the journey, because the attention system of the frontal lobes is turned off."
# Play games that need high mental activity --- crosswords, Su Doku, or computer games.
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