The second most important factor in retaining mental vitality later in life is to exercise in varied, natural environments. You don’t need to run marathons. Power walking in a park or forest, fast enough to get your heart rate up and your brain full of rich, oxygenated blood, is the goal. The varied environment will stimulate your brain and in particular the hippocampus, the seat of memory. And the thousands of little microadjustments you need to make to your gait, the angle of your feet, and maintaining your balance and pace will exercise the circuits in your brain that evolved to adapt to
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