Physical exercise has been known to positively affect the body in a plethora of ways and improve your overall health. Physical exercise has shown also to have some sort of mental benefits such as reducing your level of stress. And while memory exercise often gets related to mind games and brain fitness tasks, various forms of physical activity combined with brain training can have an important impact on your mental health. From running on the treadmill to even picking up a few weights, this form of activity can stimulate and promote growth of brain cells.

The brain plays a vital role in the lives of every human on earth and it is a tool that we use everyday. So it only makes sense to work on it, keep it in shape and stay on top of everything to ensure it has enough oxygen and other nutrients to remain healthy. Daily physical activity has been shown to be a useful way to increase blood flow to the brain. And through countless studies, it has been found that your aerobic capacity increases oxygen in the brain and all other organs which is very beneficial for you.

When oxygen levels decrease, your ability to concentrate becomes less and less.  And when you cannot focus, the ability to learn new information is tampered. The direct correlation of memory exercise is there as studies show physical activity increases the flow of oxygen to your brain.  Even walking 15 minutes a day can help.

Aerobic exercise has been found to also build new brain cells. Intense activity will grow new brain cells in the hippocampus, which is one part of the brain responsible for memory. A study conducted by the Scott Small of the National Academy of Sciences showed a three-month program of vigorous exercise produced new neurons in this area and improved testing of mental recall as well.

The study found a 30 percent increase in the number of brain cells within the different human participants. With that study, each participant was exercising one to two hours a day, four days a week on a treadmill or stationary bicycle. 

While not everyone has the desire to get out and run, you may want to consider it when hearing the kind of effect memory exercise such as brain fitness can have. Brain fitness can help you train your cognitive skills and help you maintain or improve your overall brain health. And on top of running, lifting weights can have positive implications as well. Other activities as dancing or even socializing can help the brain grow new neuronal pathways through brain plasticity.

When adding this to the equation, it can help you stay mentally sharp and focused as it has been proven to help individuals score higher on tests of reasoning and working memory. 

So as you begin to think about ways to elongate your memory and sharpen the overall focus and concentration, you may want to think a little more about combining brain fitness activities with physical exercise. The results make it all worthwhile.