In one trendy Los Angeles health club, people are toning both brains and bodies. It's the same with the brain.
Exercise increases blood flow in the brain and reduces the chances of getting a stroke.
I rode my bicycle to work the entire 35 years I lived in New York City. But you don't always need to work the body to work the brain. A stimulating hobby or good book helps keep your brain in shape, says Roderigo Kuljis, MD, the Esther Lichtenstein Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at University of Miami School of Medicine. And books are even better if you engage in a book club, for instance, because that helps to register the information. Bragdon says that when you do not use your brain as much, the connections between the nerve cells become less effective.