It looks like exercise keeps your mind active – as well as your body.

Recent research on elderly patients suffering with vascular cognitive impairment – studied the impact of aerobic activity on their ability to perform mental tasks – and to plan and coordinate tasks of daily living.

The activity was defined as one hour of aerobic activity – which included: a 10-minute warm up, 40 minutes of walking at a pace that increased heart rate to age appropriate targets and a 10-minute cool down.

The therapy was performed three times a week – for six months.

Patients who underwent aerobic therapy saw an improvement in their cognitive function – when they were compared to patients who didn’t undergo the process.

The research is published in the journal Neurology.