Exercise - How exercise can improve your brain function.
You've undoubtedly heard someone say something like, "Your brain is like a muscle." That concept really supports the brain training industry (by which I mean education) and keeps millions of young people throughout the world glued to their desks, solving arithmetic problems, writing essays, and dissecting innocent amphibians - but is it accurate?
Surprisingly, the brain-as-muscle analogy isn't exactly right. You must flex your glutes to strengthen your glutes, but a more coincidental approach is more appropriate when it comes to your brain. Getting your glutes in shape will directly enhance your grey matter. Yes, working out your buttocks will improve your intelligence!
Exercise has a variety of effects on the brain. Exercise stimulates growth factors in the brain, making it easier for the brain to form new neural connections, according to UCLA research.
Exercise boosts mood and sleep while lowering stress and anxiety. Cognitive impairment is typically caused or exacerbated by issues in these areas. Being active during the day offers you more energy and helps you sleep better at night. As a result, improved sleep boosts creativity and cognitive performance.
Blood flow to the brain increases as your heart rate rises during activity. Your brain is exposed to more oxygen and nutrients as blood flow increases.
Exercise also causes the brain to release helpful proteins. These feeding proteins encourage the creation of new neurons and maintain brain cells (also known as neurons) health. Neurons are the brain's structural building blocks. As a result, the integrity of individual neurons is critical to the overall health of the brain.
Exercise improves your mood and lowers your stress levels!
When you exercise, your body releases chemicals in your brain called dopamine and endorphins that make you feel good. Not only does exercise help your brain release feel-good hormones, but it also helps it release chemicals that make you feel agitated and anxious.
Those who exercise are often happier and less stressed than those who do not. When you're angry or unhappy, regular exercise might also help you control your emotions.
Memory and thinking are aided by exercise in both direct and indirect ways. Benefits come from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that influence the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells.
How much physical activity is needed to improve memory? These study participants went for a one-hour brisk walk twice a week.
This equates to 120 minutes of moderately intense exercise per week. Most days of the week, half an hour of moderate physical activity, or 150 minutes each week, is recommended. If that sounds too difficult, start with a few minutes per day and gradually increase your exercise time by five or ten minutes per week until you accomplish your goal.
If you don't want to walk, try swimming, stair climbing, tennis, squash, or dance, which are all moderate-intensity exercises. Household activities like vigorous floor mopping, raking leaves, or anything that gets your heart racing so hard that you break out in a light sweat can all count.
You don't have the discipline to do it on your own? Try one or more of the following suggestions:
Participate in a class or exercise with a friend who will hold you accountable.
Keep track of your progress, which will motivate you to achieve your goal.
Hire a personal trainer if you can. (It's a good motivator to pay an expert.)
Whatever activity and motivators you choose, make it a habit to exercise on a regular basis, almost as if you were taking medication. After all, it's been said that exercise is medicine, and that should be high on anyone's list of reasons to exercise.
Get up and get moving!