Exercise and Brain Power: Keep Your Muscles Active to Strengthen Your Mind

Exercise and brain health are closely related. This is because your brain, like the muscles in your arms and legs, gets stronger when you exercise regularly. And although there is no machine in the gym to exercise your brain, you still receive the benefits of physical activity.

Increasing your heart rate also benefits your brain, as physical activity is good for maintaining your weight and great for your memory. The benefits to the brain come from the increased blood flow and oxygen that regular exercise produces.

With a large amount of blood and nutrients available, your brain is fueled for optimal performance. Daily activity also allows new brain cells to develop while strengthening your neural pathways. Exercise improves your memory and physical activity plays an important role in maintaining your cognitive health with age.

Ready to increase the intensity of your daily exercise and maximize your brainpower? Learn about all the ways that physical activity supports your brain health.

The science of exercise and the brain

Current research establishes the connection between regular exercise and better brain function. A minimum of 30 to 45 minutes of daily activity is enough to unleash a myriad of memory-preserving benefits. Learn about the five ways exercise can support your cognitive skills.

1. Exercise increases hippocampal levels

The area of the brain responsible for verbal learning and memory is called the hippocampus. When you exercise, your hippocampus increases in volume (literally grows), and the neurons present in it become denser, reinforcing the connectivity of the region through your physical activity.

The hippocampus is the first region of the brain to be affected with age. Regular exercise helps the hippocampus maintain its proper function and protects it from normal deterioration related to aging.

Exercise also increases activity in this memory and learning center. Just 10 minutes of exercise, of mild to moderate intensity, is enough to strengthen the connection between neurons and the memory-focused section of the brain.

This improved connectivity in the hippocampus can lead to better performance on tests of memory and cognitive abilities. Short exercise sessions — which may still fit better into your busy life — can even increase your ability to remember. This could include remembering where you parked your car or what appointments you've got during the day. subsequent time you hit the gym, believe your hippocampus and what you're doing to profit from it.

2. Exercising reduces stress hormones that inhibit brain activity

Many people go for a walk or run to reduce stress. If you feel stressed, your brain is too. Exercise is a powerful tool to relax your mind.

Physical activity reduces stress hormones (specifically the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine) that build up in the brain when something worries you and causes you anxiety. Excess stress hormones can drain your energy and contribute to brain fog. This can even lower your cognitive abilities and lower your brainpower.

Eliminate the mental fog caused by stress by placing importance on regular exercise. The endorphins released in your brain after exercise eliminate stress hormones and improve your mood. Exercise and endorphins also stimulate growth in the hippocampus, as you read earlier.

Your brain and body need exercise to relax. Think clearly by prioritizing regular practice, your mood will improve.

3. Sleep improves with exercise

Another way that exercises benefits your mind is by helping you get a good night's sleep. Through daily exercise, your body's effort makes it easier for you to fall asleep, especially the type of sleep that helps you feel rested and recharged the next morning.

Restful sleep also improves mental clarity and executive function. You need a good night's sleep to focus, make decisions, and process your emotions. Although your brain is active when you sleep, good sleep provides much-needed free time for your brain to rest and prepare for the next day. Your brain is at full capacity after a good night's sleep. Cognitive abilities are sharpened and memory is strengthened. Start exercising for the sake of your sleep and your brain strength.

4. The role of aerobic exercise in triggering the release of growth factors

Your memory depends on the neural pathways and connections within your brain. Proteins are called proteins to help your mind to make new connections and strengthen the old ones. Fortunately, regular exercise is an easy way to increase the amount of these factors available to your brain.

Physical activity triggers the release of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This protein helps your brain generate new cells and preserve aging cells, as well as being responsible for developing new blood vessels in and around the brain, allowing greater blood and nutrient circulation in the area.

If you want to help your brain grow and get the blood and nutrients it needs, stays active. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels rise every time you exercise, even if you only exercise for a few minutes. This means that supporting your brain only takes a few minutes of activity.

5. Regular activity slows the aging of the brain.

Aging does not mean that your brain has to slow down. You can change your lifestyle now to preserve your memory and keep yourself mentally sharp. Developing the habit of exercising regularly and for life can help you maintain a healthy brain in the future.

A study of the relationship between memory and exercise illustrates this point well. Studies show that older adults who exercised regularly in their youth outperformed their peers on tests of memory and cognitive abilities. Their results most closely matched other examinees up to 10 years younger.

Since you are only as old as you feel, rejuvenate your body and mind by prioritizing regular exercise throughout your life.

Choose aerobic or anaerobic exercise for a healthy brain

Your brain does not require certain types of exercise to stay well. All you need to do is increase blood circulation to start feeling the benefits. As you read earlier, exercise is beneficial to the brain because it increases blood flow in that region.

High-energy activities such as tennis, cycling, swimming, and soccer raise your heart rate above your normal resting base. These activities fall under the category of aerobic exercise and are great for starting the rapid movement of blood through your body. Aerobic exercise is complementary to brain health. Fast-paced movements increase blood flow to your head and neck, supplying your brain with high amounts of oxygen and nutrients.

But you don't always have to do aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise produces similar results that stimulate the brain. Resistance movements and lifting weights are also great ways to exercise your brain.

You don't even have to try too hard to benefit your brain. Activities like yoga, tai chi, and other low-impact sports hone your ability to concentrate and focus while lowering stress levels.

Doing a variety of activities is great for your body and brain. Your goal should be to develop multifaceted workouts that include strength training, balance, low impact, and aerobic movements.

 Protect your brain and body health by placing importance on regular physical activity. Exercise daily and watch your brain respond.