Regular walks could delay dementia

A recent study by scientists has shown that regular walks can delay the shrinking of the brain and the faltering mental skills that come with old age.

This includes the slowing down or delaying of the onset of conditions such as dementia, which is one of the most common conditions in elderly people with many residents in good care homes in Abingdon and other towns and cities across the UK suffering from the disease.

This new piece of research surveyed men and women between 60-80 years of age and concluded that walking three times a week increases the size of the brain by around two or three percent and improves memory.

Professor Kirk Erickson, a neuroscientist at the University of Pittsburgh, says, “It may sound like a modest amount (the size increase of the brain) but that’s actually like reversing the age clock by about one to two years.”

The participants in the study had previously not exercised a lot, but after walking for 30-40 minutes or doing stretching exercises regularly they scored higher on spatial memory tests and reported feeling more mentally alert.

Image Credit: Diana (flickr.com)