Originally published on goodmenproject.com.
Physical and mental health are interlocked together. One of the most important things you can do to improve your brain health is to exercise, according to fitness expert Eugene Pallisco.
1. Weight Lifting
Lifting weights can have a profound impact on brain health. A study conducted in 2020 found that lifting weights for six months can help to prevent the hippocampus from shrinking in the elderly. This is important, as its job is to help with learning and verbal memory.
You don’t have to lift a lot of weight or look to build huge muscles to gain this benefit, either. You just want to focus on your form and get that iron pumping.
2. Aerobics
Another great way to exercise your brain is through aerobic activities. These exercises help boost the brain’s blood flow and increase the hippocampus’s size. Aerobics has also been associated with a lower risk of dementia.
Aerobics can provide benefits to people of all ages, and you can start at any age, too.
3. Tai Chi
Tai chi has been proven to increase people’s ability to multi-task. While this may seem like a minor thing, it’s really not in terms of brain health.
A study conducted in 2018 found that tai chi helps to increase activity in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is where a lot of high-level thinking happens. The exercise also helps to improve problem-solving, memory, planning, and reasoning
4. Dancing
Dancing isn’t just a fun activity to do. It also has great physical and mental benefits. If you dance regularly, you could reduce your risk of dementia by as much as 76%, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
What’s more, dancing also helps to improve cognitive function for people who are dementia patients. This goes to show that it’s never too late to make a change.
5. Athletics
Playing sports can be great for your brain health, especially if you’re learning a new sport. Athletic activities can help to boost your strength and balance. It also helps to increase your aerobic capacity, which is the ability of your body to utilize oxygen to create energy.
All of this can help to protect the brain as you get older. The athletic activity doesn’t have to be intense, either. It can be yoga, tennis, swimming, or golf.
6. Cycling
Eugene Pallisco points out that cycling can have great cognitive benefits for people, especially when done outside. Studies have shown that it can help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease and even reduce the progression of Alzheimer’s.
When cycling is done outside, it also brings you into nature and allows you to breathe in the fresh air your brain needs to stay healthy and alert.
About Eugene Pallisco
Fitness expert and licensed trainer Eugene Pallisco works in Dallas, Texas. Since he began working with motivational fitness mentors in high school, Eugene has devoted a significant amount of time to sculpting and molding his training philosophy, which is centered on improving others. Before starting his private training firm in the fitness industry, he gained more expertise by working one-on-one with gym patrons after beginning as a group fitness teacher.