Exercise Makes You Smarter: The Body/MInd Connection

Wow! This piece in the Scientific American is long. Fortunately, readers who are physically and cognitively fit should have little trouble staying awake while reading it. Wait. Did Geezer say “physically and cognitively fit”? Why the distinction? If the research cited in this piece is right, those who are physically fit are significantly more likely to be cognitively fit. Here’s one example:
“In a study published in 2001, neuropsychiatrist Kristine Yaffe of the
University of California, San Francisco, and her colleagues recruited
5,925 women older than 65 at four different medical centers across the
U.S. The participants were all free of any physical disability that
would limit their ability to walk or pursue other physical activities.
The volunteers were also screened to ensure that they did not have a
cognitive impairment. The researchers then assessed their physical
activity by asking the women how many city blocks they walked and how
many flights of stairs they climbed daily and gave them a questionnaire
to fill out about their levels of participation in 33 different
physical activities. After six to eight years, the researchers assessed
the women’s level of cognitive function. The most active women had a 30
percent lower risk of cognitive decline.”
Yes, there’s more. Read it here in the Scientific American.