Get Moving for Memory

Quick Win

Aerobic exercise is important for overall health, including brain health. Spend 20–30 minutes today doing a moderate-intensity workout.

Try This Today

• Choose your moves. What’s manageable today? A brisk walk outdoors or a hike on a nearby trail? A bike ride? Good indoor options include treadmill walking, aerobic dance classes such as Zumba and online exercise videos. (Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.) 
• Get in the zone. As a rule of thumb, you’re at moderate intensity during physical activity when you’re breathing faster than usual but not out of breath; you can talk easily but not sing. Knowing your “target heart rate” can help you stay in the proper range; check out the American Heart Association’s guide.
• Listen to your body. What’s moderate-intensity exercise for one person may be strenuous to another. If your walk feels too easy, pick up the pace or add hills. If you’re out of breath or in pain while biking, slow down or take a break.

Why

Large-scale population studies have linked getting regular exercise with better brain function later in life. Clinical research has shown benefits, too. After six months of supervised aerobic exercise, 206 middle-aged and older adults showed improvements in several aspects of cognition, including executive function (the ability to do things such as managing time and planning), according to a 2020 report in Neurology. In a study of 30 adults with mild memory problems, half did a year of aerobic exercise training, and half did a year of stretching. The aerobic exercisers experienced improved memory performance. Those results were published in 2020 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Today’s a good day to start building the hab