Endurance sports not only help your physical fitness, but also your psyche. Studies suggest that exercise can actually increase brain volume. A Viennese neurologist therefore recommends exercise as a prevention against dementia.
“It is precisely the parts that are important for memory processes that grow under endurance sports,” says the Viennese neurologist and psychiatrist Josef Spatt. The brain is still changing in adults too. “While alcohol and cigarettes tend to shrink it, racing biking, swimming and jogging specifically help the hippocampus to grow,” says Spatt. This is the result of researchers at the University of Bochum.
The sportier the better. However, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh, even those who walk about ten kilometers per week for a long time will have a larger brain volume years later than people who have never moved much.
Above all, brain regions that play a major role in storing new information benefit. “This is also the part of the brain that is particularly badly affected, for example in the Alzheimer’s type of dementia,” explains Josef Spatt. To keep yourself physically fit, you can of course visit a gym. But exercise in the great outdoors is best for mental health, says Spatt.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
