How to jog your memory, literally.

In case the sheer volume of studies indicating regular exercise wards off almost every physical issue associated with aging isn't enough, a couple new studies indicate that it helps prevent your noggin from rotting too. Both studies appear in The Archives of Neurology.

The first study, out of Seattle, showed that six months of intense cardio helped people with "mild cognitive impairment" improve their "cognitive abilities of attention and concentration, organization, planning, and multi-tasking," according to an article at Reuter's Health.

The second study is from the Mayo Clinic and basically came to the same conclusion. From Reuters:

Moderate exercise in midlife was associated with a 39 percent reduced likelihood of developing mild cognitive impairment, and moderate exercise in late life was associated with a 32 percent reduction in the odds of mental decline. The findings were consistent among men and women.

I think this is great and all, but for me personally, it opens up a HUGE can of worms. Here's how the studies defined mild cognitive impairment: "some memory difficulties, such as forgetting people's names or misplacing items." People suffering from this impairment have a 10% to 15% chance of developing dementia later in life, as opposed to the 2% chance that the rest of the population has.

I have a mind like a sieve. I'm terrible with names and I lose my keys with such frequency that I now budget 10 to 15 minutes a day into my schedule for "car key searching time." I usually find them in yesterday's pants, although this morning I found them in the fridge. I always thought I was a little absent-minded. Now it turns out my brain is officially broken and I'm probably going to lose what's left of it before the rest of you guys.

Thankfully, exercise will help. I'd go swim laps right this minute, but I can't seem to find my goggles...