Exercise also prevents shrinkage of the hippocampal brain region which has been observed in depressed rodents, protects your brain from age-related neurodegeneration and associative diseases including cognitive decline (12), supports recovery from brain injury (such as a traumatic brain injury and even stroke) (13) and increases levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) has wider implications for boosting cognition, thinking skills, memory and learning (14). Here, BDNF is linked to injury.