We spend so much time focusing on how exercise changes our bodies - burning calories, building muscle, shedding fat. What if the most important transformation is happening where you can’t see it? Hidden inside your skull, your brain is changing with every step, squat, and sprint.
Neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki has spent years uncovering how movement rewires the brain. As a professor at NYU and an expert in neuroplasticity, Wendy’s research reveals how aerobic exercise boosts memory, sharpens focus, and even builds a protective barrier against dementia.
In this episode, Wendy explains what happens inside your brain when you move, why it’s never too late to strengthen your mind, and the powerful ways exercise can slow brain aging. You’ll discover simple, science-backed habits - including her own brain-boosting routine - to help you stay mentally sharp for years to come.
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Timecodes
00:00 Introduction
02:35 Can you grow your brain?
05:05 Why we forget things
07:20 Emotions and memory
10:00 Does memory decline with age?
13:15 Early signs of Alzheimer’s
15:45 Can walking prevent dementia?
18:20 Does the brain shrink?
20:45 How stress harms your brain
23:50 A real, preserved human brain...
26:30 Why exercise boosts memory
29:15 Can adults grow new brain cells?
31:45 How daily movement improves memory
35:10 How much exercise do you need?
38:25 Best workouts for brain health
41:30 Nutrition, gut health, and memory
45:00 Do Blue Zone habits help?
48:10 A simple brain experiment
50:45 Wendy’s brain-boosting routine
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
The Food For Life Cookbook
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks
Mentioned in today's episode
London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis, 2006, published in Hippocampus
Bigger is better! Hippocampal volume and declarative memory performance in healthy young men, 2012, published in Brain Structure and Function
The effects of acute exercise on cognitive performance: a meta-analysis, 2012, published in Brain Research
The effect of acute aerobic exercise on positive activated affect: A meta-analysis, 2006, published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise
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Episode transcripts are available here.