A one hour walk 3 times per week for 6 months improved executive function and made the brain work more efficiently in patients with vascular dementia.

The randomized controlled trial found that moderate aerobic exercise for 6 months was able to improve behavioral performance and executive function and that this was associated with reduced activity in certain brain regions.

The reduction in brain activity in regions of the brain required for attention and rapid decision-making but they correlated with improvements on the cognitive tests. The less someone’s brain had to work to maintain attention and make quick decisions, the better that person typically performed on the tests of general thinking ability.