CBC Radio – Everyone knows that exercise helps your heart, but what about your brain?
There are well-known links between cardiovascular health and brain health, experts said.
Laureys recommends his patients get 20 minutes of aerobic exercise — a workout that causes you to sweat — three times a week.
“It really changes the neurochemistry of the brain,” he said.
In a study from 2023, Montero-Odasso and colleagues showed that combining aerobic-resistance exercises with cognitive training gave the best results for improving global cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
“Your brain is an oxygen-hungry organ,” said Dr. Dwivedi, and exercise increases both oxygen and blood flow to the brain.
“You want to keep the brain healthy, stay physically fit.”
New sleep study examines how brains function on less sleep
How much does sleep matter to my brain health?
We’re all familiar with how foggy our brains can feel after a poor night’s rest.
Over time, bad sleep can have a negative impact on brain health and puts us at risk for certain brain diseases such as dementia.
A system in our brain called the glymphatic system, which was only discovered in 2012, is integral to cognitive health by helping the brain get rid of waste, said Laureys.
“It’s a natural, efficient detox happening during deep sleep,” he said.
If you struggle to sleep well, it’s important to figure out why and get medical help to try to sleep better, he added …
