Don't Forget Exercise

In the NY Times article How Exercise Benefits the Brain we learn that this oft-reported claim has been tied to a mechanism:

For some time, scientists have believed that BDNF helps explain why mental functioning appears to improve with exercise. However, they haven’t fully understood which parts of the brain are affected or how those effects influence thinking. The Irish study suggests that the increases in BDNF prompted by exercise may play a particular role in improving memory and recall.

So, alternate that butt-in-chair time with a little time on the trails.  Not only does it feel good, it improves learning.