#26: Sports That Protect Your Brain From Dementia | Dr. Tommy Wood

#26: Sports That Protect Your Brain From Dementia | Dr. Tommy Wood

From Two Percent with Michael Easter by iHeartPodcasts

July 6, 2026 · 30 min · Episode 26

About this episode

Michael Easter discusses with Dr. Tommy Wood how certain sports can protect the brain from dementia.

It turns out that tennis might be one of the best things you can do to protect your brain from dementia as you age. For this episode of Two Percent, Michael Easter sits down with neuroscientist Dr. Tommy Wood, author of The Stimulated Mind, to explain why sports that make you think while you move are amazing for your brain. The list includes tennis, pickleball, martial arts, and even strongman competitions. They get into why the world's most physically active elders in an Amazonian tribe have some of the lowest dementia rates ever measured. They also cover what "open-skill" sports actually do to your brain on an MRI scan, and how modern exercise got so boring the moment we split the body from the mind. Then Michael opens the mailbag for an AMA. He shares how to stay fit while traveling and names the single best exercise if you could only pick one. Finally, he settles a debate that has haunted him since college: what is the actual difference between a sport and a game? Two Percent is hosted by Michael Easter. Today’s episode was produced by Joey Fischground, Robbie Hiser, Dana Brawer and Julia Nutter. From Kaleidoscope, our executive producers are Mangesh Hattikudur and Kate…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Easter

Guest: Dr. Tommy Wood

Topics covered

  • brain health
  • dementia
  • sports
  • exercise
  • neuroscience
  • fitness

Keywords

  • tennis
  • pickleball
  • martial arts
  • strongman competitions
  • open-skill sports
  • exercise
  • dementia prevention

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: iHeartPodcasts

Books & works: The Stimulated Mind

Places: Amazonian

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