3 aerobic exercises for optimum functioning of your brain

Opting for 35 minutes of aerobic exercises like walking or cycling can enhance your cognitive skills, observed a new study. Here, we list out few aerobic exercises which can reverse the ageing of your brain.

A recent study published in the journal Neurology revealed that doing aerobic exercise for 35 minutes, thrice-a-week can help enhance thinking skills. The participants who performed aerobic exercises like walking and cycling for six months witnessed an improvement in their scores on thinking tests, by the equivalent of reversing nine years of ageing.

According to the study co-author James A. Blumentha from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, by incorporating regular exercise in their routines, people who have cognitive impairments without dementia, were able to improve their ability to plan and complete certain cognitive tasks in just six months. Other studies suggest that exercise not only reduces our waistlines and stress, but it can have long-term measurable effects on your brain function as you age.

According to Dr Shirish Hastak, consultant neurologist at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai Central, "Brain needs oxygen and blood flow all the time. It is the organ which depends on glucose and oxygen. Hence, exercising help you to maintain a good oxygen and glucose flow to your brain."

Top 3 exercises to enhance your brain function

1: Walking

"Walking is a free and low impact form of aerobic exercise, which can help pumps up the blood flow to your mind. You can do it anywhere and at any time," says Dr Hastak. The healthy blood flow can increase the brain's supply of glucose, oxygen, and other nutrients, and can help eliminate waste products which are present in your brain tissue. "You can do brisk walking has maximum benefits for your brain, joints, muscles and blood flow and blood vessels. You should walk for half-an-hour or hour per day is recommended," advises Dr Hastak.

2: Swimming

According to various studies, swimming can boost your the blood flow to the brain which can help enhance memory, mood, clarity, and focus. It has been found that once you get immerse yourself in the water till the level of your heart, your blood flow to the middle cerebral arteries and posterior cerebral arteries also improve.

3: Cycling

Cycling is a good form of aerobic exercise which helps maintain adequate blood flow to your brain, which supplies it with a steady stream of oxygen and nutrients owing to which cycling can help keep thinking, learning and judgment sharp as people tend to age.