I’m a neuroscientist – this is the most important thing you can do right now to increase your brain power

According to a neuroscientist from New York University, cycling or brisk walking every day is a good way to strengthen your brain.

Dr. Wendy Suzuki, a neuroscientist at New York University, said physical activity is “the most transformative thing you can do for your brain health.”

Every time you move your body, “it releases a whole bunch of neurochemicals. I call it a neurochemical hot tub for your brain,” she added.

Exercise is crucial for brain health because it improves blood flow to the organ and increases the size of the hippocampus, an area crucial for forming and storing memories and learning new things.

It may also create new brain cells in the hippocampus and prevent brain atrophy, a hallmark of dementia.

Exercise improves blood flow to the brain and increases the size of the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory consolidation and learning new things

Exercise also increases synapses in the prefrontal cortex, the area where information is processed and contextualized. This improvement increases our ability to make decisions, reason, and express ourselves.

As the U.S. aging population continues to grow, so will the number of dementia cases. Currently, an estimated 5.8 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, the vast majority of whom are over the age of 65.

This number is expected to rise to almost 13 million by 2050.

However, Dr. Suzuki said TODAY exercising “actually helps you grow a big, fat, fluffy brain every time you exercise.”

She recommends aerobic exercise to get your heart rate up three to four times a week for about 30 minutes.

The CDC’s official exercise guidelines recommend that people get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or about 20 minutes per day.

The agency recommends spending two days during that time on muscle-strengthening exercises.

However, despite all the benefits, Americans aren’t getting the exercise they need.

CDC data released in January 2023 showed that only 28 percent of adults ages 18 and older met both the aerobic and strength guidelines for weekly physical activity.

There is now evidence that just 20 minutes of physical activity a day reduces the risk of cancer, dementia and heart disease.

Physical activity has been shown to be effective in strengthening the brain and reducing the risk of dementia.

A 2017 study in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences found a link between low physical activity and an increased risk of dementia.

They performed MRI scans on about 2,000 people aged 60 and older, finding that higher activity levels corresponded to larger hippocampal volume.

The most encouraging finding was that the protective effect was greatest in people over 75. This is further proof that it is never too late to start.

Another study, published in July 2022 in the journal Neurology, analyzed the health information of 501,400 people from a British health database over 11 years.

Researchers found that people who consistently engage in intense activity (sports or exercise) have a 35 percent lower risk of developing dementia.

Even people who reported doing household chores saw an improvement and were 21 percent less likely to develop dementia.

A separate meta-analysis of 38 international studies from October 2022, also published in the journal Neurology, found that people who regularly engaged in activities such as walking, running, dancing, exercising or swimming were 17 percent less likely to develop the disease of Alzheimer’s compared to people who did not.

Health officials recommend people do 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise, or aerobic exercise, and two days of strengthening exercises.

In addition to physical activity, Dr. Suzuki some other actions you can take to nourish the brain. She recommended people sleep about eight hours a night, manage stress and anxiety with breathing exercises and meditation, maintain strong social connections and eat a healthy diet rich in omega fatty acids and protein.

Sleeping allows the brain to flush out waste products from the day, including dead cells and leftover proteins that are byproducts of natural metabolic processes.

Meanwhile, social connections help improve memory and mood. People are predisposed to be social, and maintaining healthy relationships is crucial to all aspects of well-being.

Good nutrition is also crucial. She recommended specific foods that can improve brain health: milk, yogurt, carrots, spinach, granola and tomatoes.

They are all rich sources of essential vitamins A, C and K, minerals such as calcium and iron, fiber, probiotics and antioxidants, which help nourish the brain.