It's official: Walking makes you smarter

Fresh air, fitness and bigger brain size. Now there are

even more reasons for getting out in the hills for a walk.

A new study has revealed yet another reason to get out walking in the Scottish hills. The American survey found that people who walked at least six miles every week had less age-related brain shrinkage than people who walked less.

One of the results of brain shrinkage in later years is memory problems. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, also kills off brain cells and reduces the volume of the brain.

But the University of Pittsburgh research found that people who walk regularly had larger brain volumes.

A spokesperson for the study said: “Our results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older adults as a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.”

The study on 300 people looked at the size of their brains over a period of almost 14 years.
It was found that people who walked roughly six to nine miles a week halved their risk of developing memory problems.

The spokesperson added: "Our results are in line with data that shows that aerobic activity induces a host of cellular cascades that could conceivably increase gray matter volume."

So now there’s even more reason and motivation for getting outdoors this winter.