In the middle of these winter doldrums, it can be hard to get out and train rather than curl up with a blanket and go hibernate until spring. But in fact exercise and play help keep your brain alive and active. How well? According to several studies, actively seeking out mental stimulation through exercise and play can actually prevent Alzheimer's:

People who engage in activities such as reading and playing games throughout their lives may be lowering levels of a protein in their brains that is linked to Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests.

"Staying cognitively active over the lifetime may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by preventing the accumulation of Alzheimer's-related pathology," said study author Susan Landau, a research scientist at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.

"Some of the literature has hypothesized this finding, but this is the first study to report that lifetime cognitive activity is directly linked to amyloid deposition in the brain," she said. "We think that cognitive activity is probably one of a variety of lifestyle practices -- occupational, recreational and social activities -- that may be important."

The report was published in the Jan. 23 online edition of the Archives of Neurology. (Source: USA Today)

Other studies have found that exercise also stimulates learning:

A new study published today, in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, studied the relationship between physical activity and academic performance. Researchers at the Vrije University Medical Center, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands found a strong correlation between physical activity and test scores. Dr. Amika Singh and colleagues suggest that physical activity may help improve test scores because of the increase in blood and oxygen flow to the child’s brain. Physical activity also improves a child’s mood and decreases stress because of the hormones released during activity.

(source: Education Week: Students' fitness linked to higher test scores)

So think of that the next time you need a brain boost after studying all day! So come into the gym out of the cold and wet and get moving!