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Staying Healthy
Gentler exercise for mind and body is best for sleep
Image: Thinkstock |
Just as regular exercise has a host of health benefits for the body, staying mentally active appears to preserve memory and general sharpness. But for getting a good night's sleep, light workouts for both body and brain may be best, according to a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The study focused on 72 people, ages 67 to 79, who reported poor sleep as well as declining mental sharpness. They were assigned at random to do either strenuous aerobic exercise or a gentler stretching routine, paired with either watching educational DVDs (followed by short quizzes) or engaging in more demanding computer-based brain training.
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