Article: Keeping
Your Brain Fit
US News & World Report
February 11, 2008

Within the last 10 years, it has become known that a decline in the brain’s cognitive ability is not inevitable or irreversible. It is now known that consistent exercising of the brain will produce the same dramatic results for memory as physical exercise can do for the muscles. It is logical to see that frequently practiced skills, such as games, speech, a musical instrument, or ironing, are not often lost, even in cases of more advance dementia. Practicing or exercising a section of the brain, keeps it healthy, while other sections may decline from a lack of use.

"People with five social ties were less likely to suffer cognitive decline than those with no ties."

Aerobic Exercise Slows Mental Decline
Journal of Gerontology
February 11, 2008

The brain starts to shrink during middle age, so it processes information more slowly. Recent finding: As little as three hours a week of walking triggers biochemical changes that increase the volume of brain regions responsible for memory and cognitive function.

-- Arthur Kennedy, PhD, department of neuroscience and psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana, and leader of a study published in Journal of Gerontology.