Exercise is key to staying mentally sharp in your career as you age 

Ask people what factor contributes most to career success and most will choose intelligence, although research shows a little luck is also required.

The problem is that while it is possible to “create” your own luck, ultimately getting lucky is out of your control. But you can control, at least to some extent, how smart you are. And you can, at least in part, control how long you stay smart, Inc. reports.

Your brain is tissue, and like any other tissue, age causes its performance to decline. When we reach our 20s, the hippocampus, the part of our brain dedicated to learning and memory, begins to shrink by about 1% per year.

As your hippocampus shrinks, it naturally loses some of its ability to process and retain information. But you don’t have to shrink. Exercise, just like you do with your skeletal muscles, can slow or even reverse the physical deterioration of your brain.

Research shows that exercise can increase the size of your hippocampus, even in your 60s and 70s, mitigating the impact of age-related memory loss. Read the full story of Inc.