Use Your Computer to Improve Your Memory

Exercise has been shown to improve your brain health and protect it as you age.  Staying mentally active by doing crossword puzzles, reading, and playing games also helps your memory stay strong in your later years.  Turns out that logging on to your computer is another way to protect yourself from memory loss as you age.  That is, as long as you also get in some exercise.

According to a study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, moderate exercise and regular computer use helps people over 70 retain brain function.  Of study participants who did not exercise nor use the computer, 37% showed signs of mild cognitive impairment, which is the stage before early Alzheimer’s disease.  Of those who did exercise and were computer users, only 18% showed signs of cognitive impairment.

It’s important to note that neither exercise nor computer use alone, without the benefit of the other, showed the same significant results.  So, log on to your computer, then get moving!  Exercises considered in the study included:

1. Yoga
2. Brisk Walking
3. Golfing without a cart
4. Hiking
5. Aerobics
6. Swimming
7. Tennis
8. Using exercise machines
9. Strength training with weights
10. Martial Arts