Aerobic exercise increases BDNF and promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory formation and one of the first areas affected in Alzheimer’s disease. Adults who exercise regularly have measurably larger hippocampal volumes.
The cognitive benefits of exercise accumulate across a lifetime but are also apparent from starting in mid-life and later. Even people who begin a regular walking programme in their 60s show measurable cognitive improvements within months.