Can This Type of Exercise be Best for Your Brain?

Scott: You mentioned exercise and that can play a big role in promoting brain health. Are some better than other, forms of exercise for he brain?

Dr. Gary Small: We're still trying to understand the best form of exercise for brain health. What we do know is that cardiovascular conditioning is brain protective. There have been many studies showing that if you get regular, physical conditioning, aerobic conditioning, you will lower your risk for Alzheimer's, in fact you'll have a bigger brain. The memory centers in the brain increase in size as a result of the exercise. You don't have to become a triathlete, you can work out maybe 15-20 minutes a day and gain the benefit.

There are also studies showing that strength training provides additional benefit for brain health, above and beyond what we get from aerobic training.