Training the muscles of the face means, in a way, training the brain too. Like other intellectual activities — reading, studying, meditating — or physical ones — walking, doing sport — facial exercise helps preserve memory and counters degenerative brain aging.
The brain that learns and performs facial exercises is stimulated to work at the peak of its abilities: coordinating movements, repeating exercises, memorizing them. Every new thing learned engages the brain in an effort that maximizes its neural power.
Science shows us today that the brain isn't fixed matter that stops changing with age: it has a plastic capacity, able to create new neural connections — new synapses — when stimulated by mental and physical activity.
Cultivating the mind through reading, meditation, new languages, facial exercise and physical activity develops the brain's ability to face degenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's, helping it better manage damage through compensation mechanisms.