In the brain, blood flow and cognitive function peak during young adulthood, but a new study of 52 young women found that oxygen availability, which is known to positively relate to brain health and function, is higher in adults who exercise regularly.

Women who exercised on a regular basis had higher oxygen availability in the anterior frontal region of the brain and performed best on difficult cognitive tasks.

“Our findings suggest that regular engagement in physical activity may improve brain functioning even in young adults in their prime,” said Dr. Liana Machado, senior author of the Psychophysiology study. “Both blood supply to the brain and cognitive functioning appear to benefit from regular exercise.

Cameron, T. A., Lucas, S. J. E. and Machado, L. (2014), Near-infrared spectroscopy reveals link between chronic physical activity and anterior frontal oxygenated hemoglobin in healthy young women. Psychophysiology. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12394