The evidence keeps mounting and by now, you know the drill: Movement is essential to help us age in a healthier way, and yet many of us still don’t include sufficient movement and exercise in our daily routines. A recent study published in JAMA Network Open further confirms this: despite research-backed exercise guidelines, way too many of us are still sitting for too long every day. Not only are we losing out on the health benefits of movement but we’re setting ourselves up for quicker brain deterioration as we age. Another new study out of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has now found an association between extra weight in your 60s and a quicker thinning of your brain’s cerebral cortex. Translation? Putting on the pounds may accelerate your brain aging by as much as 10 years. If that’s not reason enough to get moving, then perhaps nothing is.

So you know you need to keep moving, yet you don’t. But this doesn’t have to be hard or involve a lot of planning. According to Dr. Shane O’Hara, a neuroscientist from Trinity College Dublin and author of the just-published book, In Praise of Walking, plenty of regular walking not only can fulfill your exercise needs but can “unlock the cognitive powers of the brain like nothing else.” O’Hara believes that aerobically-demanding activity, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes, 4-5 times/week, produces essential brain-nourishing molecules especially important as you get older. So don’t worry about that lapsed gym membership. Just put on some walking shoes and read more here.