Brain Booster to Prevent Memory Loss #1: Exercise

Middle-aged Americans have long been spending millions to save their sagging skin, fix their crow's feet and plump their lips. Now, however, Americans are turning to brain boosters to fight an invisible effect of aging: memory loss.

The brain actually shrinks with age, neural connections slow down and fewer nerve cells are created, experts explain.

The process begins as early as your 30s and affects tens of millions of Americans, leaving them both frustrated and causing a loss of social impairment, self-confidence and loss of enjoyment of life. This can sometimes lead to self-neglect and serious health issues.

To derail age-related memory loss, many people have turned to brain exercises and brain games such as chess, crossword puzzles, reading aloud and computer games, that promise mental sharpness if you practice enough. There is still debate as to whether these activities really work. However, experts say that by taking the 5 steps we will discuss this week, we can certainly keep our brains younger.

Brain Booster #1: Exercise

Exercising is one of the most frequently cited activities to improve age-related memory.

"The one that has the most robust findings is physical exercise," says Molly Wagster, PhD, chief of the behavioral and systems neuroscience branch division of the National Institute of Agin.

And it helps if the exercise is aerobic, Wagster says. Studies show that older people who exercise - just fairly easy exercise of moderate walking a few times a week - outperformed their couch potato counterparts after six months.

Experts do not fully understand why exercise helps boost brainpower, but it could be for several reasons. First, exercise diminishes stress, a key drain of brain energy, and it also helps overall help. It also helps people sleep better, which improves memory and keeps the blood flowing to all parts of our body.

"In general, what's good for the heart is good for the brain," says Gary Small, MD, director of the UCLA Center for Aging and author of iBrain, which examines, among other things, the effect of the Internet on our brains.

Members at Mettler Center can workout in a variety of capacities, whether it is through a group exercise class, yoga session or lifting weights on your own. Just make sure to keep your exercise regular to reap the full benefits for your mind and body.