Want to stave off brain deterioration as you age? Then you'll need to get your heart rate up on a regular basis!

A new report from the Journal of Neurology finds that exercise is the single greatest predictor of whether or not you'll have a healthy human brain in your advanced years. Scientists tracked a huge swath of people in Great Britain since the 1930s to arrive at their findings. Those folks are now 76 or 77!

Key to the study's findings is the insight that exercise improves brain health through the simple act of increasing circulation, bringing in more oxygen to your brain.

This advice flies in the face of the longstanding school of thought that says seniors should do puzzles and other various brain exercises to maintain mental agility. My mom is 88 years old and she was put in a routine of brain exercises.

But the greatest benefit to my mom is probably that she exercises several times a week just weeks away from her 89th birthday!