{"id":369990,"date":"2026-03-05T23:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/369990\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T23:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:59:10","slug":"cardiovascular-surgeon-with-25-years-experience-says-even-30-minutes-of-intense-exercise-a-week-can-protect-your-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/369990\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiovascular surgeon with 25 years experience says even \u201830 minutes\u2019 of intense exercise a week can protect your brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your heart works tirelessly every single day, but are you doing enough to protect it? Dr Jeremy London, US board-certified cardiovascular surgeon<\/a> with more than 25 years of experience, shares in his March 4 Instagram post how regular exercise can significantly lower your risk of heart disease, improve circulation, strengthen cardiac muscles, and boost overall longevity. Here\u2019s why moving your body might be the simplest prescription for a healthier heart. (Also read: <\/strong>Pediatric cardiologist explains how too much salt and sugar in kids\u2019 diets raises future heart disease risk<\/strong><\/a> )<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"DrDr Jeremy London explains that engaging in daily exercise can protect both heart and brain health. (Freepik)How much exercise do you really need<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise may be the most important tool you have to protect your brain,\u201d says Dr Jeremy. \u201cWhen we think of cardio<\/a> training, we usually think about strengthening the heart, but it may be even more important for protecting your brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Dr London, large studies<\/a> have shown that regular exercise can decrease the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and dementia by up to 40%. The encouraging part? You don\u2019t have to be a marathon runner to see benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese studies show that maximal benefit is seen at around 10,000 steps a day,\u201d he explains, \u201cbut benefits actually begin at around 4,000 steps.\u201d In other words, even moderate daily movement can make a meaningful difference.<\/p>\n

He also highlights that intensity plays a role. \u201cJust one day a week of 30 minutes of high-intensity training has been shown to decrease all-cause mortality and reduce the risk of dementia<\/a> by 30%,\u201d Dr London notes.<\/p>\n

How exercise protects the brain<\/p>\n

So why exactly does exercise have such a powerful effect on the brain? \u201cWhen you exercise, you engage multiple systems in the body. It improves blood flow to the brain, enhances vascular health, decreases inflammation<\/a>, and stimulates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor,\u201d he explains. This protein helps keep neurons healthy and even promotes the growth of new brain cells.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiterally, exercising keeps your brain young,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

His biggest takeaway is simple yet powerful: \u201cWhat\u2019s good for your heart may also be good for your brain. If you want to protect both, use the easiest prescription we have, move your body every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.<\/p>\n

This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your heart works tirelessly every single day, but are you doing enough to protect it? Dr Jeremy London,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[159,86768,171198,18,525,135,137,19,17,171197,146304],"class_list":{"0":"post-369990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-brain","9":"tag-cardiovascular-surgeon","10":"tag-decrease-the-risk-of-alzheimers-disease","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-fitness","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-heart","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-protect-your-brain","18":"tag-regular-exercise"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}