The positive effect of physical activity on your general health – unfortunately this has become a cliche and is often repeated mechanically rather than getting implemented in people’s lives. And we can all observe the sad results. But hey, the times are changing, and we want to change for the better too!

And, as we find ways to improve our health and keep our bodies working more efficiently for longer, the question comes: what about our brains? Dementia is feared more than cancer nowadays. No one wants to suffer from memory loss, difficulties with thinking, problem-solving and language. Is there anything we can do to help fight it off? The answer is simple – GOOD NUTRITION and REGULAR EXERCISE certainly help against the common types of dementia.

I keep referring to the BBC’s #HowToStayYoung for a good reason – they manage to show the dry, and a bit boring, scientific facts we hear about in an entertaining way: they travel to Japan and even show sliced brains (BRAAAINS!) demonstrating the difference between the healthy brain and the one with dementia in weight, size and structure. Imho, the BBC is well worth the licence fee!

So, #HowToStayYoung ran tests on a group of over-60s and showed that, after just 10 weeks with 2 one-hour sessions a week, activities like brisk walking, playing table tennis and dancing had major improvements on the state of people’s brains.

Improvement in cognitive performance, more neurons in the hippocampus, cortex (complex thinking) growth! Surely results so rapidly are a good incentive?

Brisk walking fared better as it provides more oxygenation to the cells,  but activities like table tennis and dancing are great for motor skill development and help emotional well-being due to regular socialisation. Learning new skills is extremely beneficial for our brains, especially as we age. And if the new activity gets you up moving even better!

Dust off those walking shoes and walk briskly to that foxtrot lesson you’ve been thinking about since the last Strictly 🙂 start now to keep enjoying 40 years later – invest in yourself!

How To Stay Young is available on the iPlayer at the moment and also it is available to download. Both option are for UK residents but there are trailers and clips available online.