Exercise and Its Influence on the Human Brain

We all know that exercising regularly is beneficial to our mental and physical health. But did you know that your workout actually makes you smarter?

What new research has demonstrated is that your brain stays in better shape when you work out. Doing exercise improves the circulation throughout the body, including the brain, and in many ways optimizes your mind to learn. When you think about that the human brain uses 20% of the body’s energy consumption (at rest!) to perform its normal functions, you might get some perspectives of how important adequate oxygen and glucose supply to the brain actually presents.

Other benefits of keeping your body (and mind) in shape include; increased metabolism, a reduction in stress-levels, as well as an improved mood and attention span – all factors which help the brain in performing better.

Over the past decade several studies have emphasized the link between physical activity and cognition. A study, by psychiatrist Marcus Richards of the University College London and his colleagues, indicated “that engagement in physical exercise and other leisure-time activities at [the age of] 36 was associated with higher memory scores at [the age of] 43” (from the July 2009 Scientific American Mind).http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fit-body-fit-mind&page=3

The same analysis also pointed out that doing physical activity at the age of 36 correlated with a slower rate of memory decline from the age 43 to 53 years of age. Contrasting, however, for those who stopped exercising after the age of 36 the study indicated little memory protection, but “protection for those individuals who began to exercise after this time”.

Another study (reproduced in the July 2009 Scientific American Mind; see link above), by then graduate student Suvi Rovio of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and her colleagues, found that conducting moderate activity “at midlife at least twice a week was associated with a reduced risk of dementia in later life”.

Physical exercise emerge (in correlation with balanced nutrition, sleep, stress management, and novel learning experiences) to be the key to your brain increasing its mind power. Additional things you do, like taking part in activities which make you utilize your brain, working out on a regular basis, staying engaged with other people, and even maintaining a positive attitude, have a significant effect on how effective your cognitive functioning will be in mature age.

Thanks to:-Linn Lislegard