There’s no lack of valuable, science-based information on the critical importance of exercise to keep yourself healthy as you get older, including many posts available on agebuzz. That means exercising to keep your heart pumping, your immune system fighting, and your muscles and bones strong and stable to avoid falls. But it’s increasingly clear that exercise also plays a critical role in protecting your brain and preserving your cognitive functions well into your later years. New research underscores that physical exercise can be critical for keeping your memory working and thinking skills sharp as you get older.

Many of us were perhaps more athletic or physically active in our younger years but may have slackened off or slowed down more recently. That would be a mistake if you value your mind, according to new studies. First, in a long-term study published in BMJ Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, researchers followed over 1400 people for a 30-year period, and assessed them at ages 36, 43, 53, 60-64, and 69 to understand the connection between levels of physical activity and cognitive performance, verbal memory, and processing speed, especially when participants reached age 69. The results? Being physically active any time in adulthood, at least once a month, was linked to a better cognitive state later in life- but the best results were found among those who were the most physically active across all ages. So get on your treadmill and read more here.

Two more recent studies further support this connection between physical activity and cognitive strength. Looking at data from almost 350,000 people of all ages, scientists from Switzerland and the United States were able to find causation (not just association) between exercise and better brain health and sharper thinking. This finding of causation strongly establishes the value of exercise for maintaining your cognition as you age. You can read more here. And another small but important new study found that just 6 minutes of strenuous exercise could quintuple your body’s production of BDNF, a molecule in the brain often referred to as “Miracle-Gro” for the brain because it supports the creation of new brain cells and the synapses that connect them. This study, published in The Journal of Physiology, supports the use of short bursts of intense exercise to ramp up the production of BDNF in your brain. While additional studies need to further elucidate this connection, it’s clear that exercising intensely, even for short bursts, can go a long way toward supporting and strengthening your brain. For more on this study, get ready to pedal fast and click here and here.

And one more connection between exercise and brain health. In a new study published in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, researchers found that exercise with others, either a buddy, trainer or even a group, can lower your risk of developing cognitive impairment in comparison to those who exercise alone or don’t exercise at all. In this study of over 4000 adults in Japan, participants who exercised with others at least 2x/a week had a 34% lower risk of cognitive impairment than those who didn’t exercise at all, and lower risk than those who exercised alone. We know that social engagement can be brain-enhancing, so it appears that combining exercise with social engagement can powerfully enhance the brain benefits that each alone provides. To find out more, make a date with an exercise partner and look here.