A team at the University of California have just released more evidence that exercise keeps your brain healthier in old age.
If any more proof were needed that riding keeps you sane, the study reveals that those in the group (6,000 women aged 65+) with the highest calorific expenditure “were 26 percent less likely to develop cognitive decline than those in the quartile who exercised the least.” Even walking a mile a day was calculated to reduce the factor of mental decline by 13%.
This latest study is one of several that have pointed to similar mental benefits from exercise. Scientists believe that the increased bloodflow to the brain, and the higher stimulus of nerve endings throughout the body are the most likely reasons for this beneficial effect.
So next time you’re trying to get out of visiting the elderly inlaws, explain that unless you go out on the bike instead you’ll end up like them a damn site faster than if you go round to sip tea and talk about “that nice man on the telly”. Failing that, get a tandem and take them with you!