Published: February 20, 2018​
Thirty-six million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In Canada, 25,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
Those sobering numbers have researchers around the globe racing to come up with new ways to help the brain fend off memory loss.
Jennifer Heisz, a cognitive neuroscientist and assistant professor of kinesiology at McMaster University and member of the McMaster Institute of Research on Aging, told CBC Radio that high-intensity physical exercise increases memory performance by about 10 per cent.
“Exercise is thought to promote new brain cells in this brain region called the hippocampus, which is critical for learning and memory.”
Listen to the full segment here
This segment was produced by The Current’s Ines Colabrese and Suzanne Dufresne.
