We've all heard that exercise is good for your heart, lungs, blood pressure, and mental health, but did you know that it could also be making you smarter? Many people believe that we are born with a set number of brain cells and that they even degenerate over time, this however is not true. Let's first discuss what we already know about the correlation between the brain and working out and we'll move to more recent studies later in this article.
Breaking a sweat has been proven to help people recover from depression more quickly, improve memory, prevent other health ailments, aid in better decision making, and helps to alleviate pain via neurotransmitters. This is thought to mimic the effects of morphine on the reward center of the brain and intefere with pain transmission within 30 minutes. Exercise causes an additive effect on the body, meaning that longer and harder workouts will be required to reach the same euphoric feeling over time. The new ideas of the effect that exercise exerts on the brain are the following mechanisms: neurogenesis, mood enhancement (increased serotonin and norepinephrine) and endorphine release.
Neurogenesis, the creation of new neurons, most often occurs in the Hippocampus which is the learning and memory center of the brain. Since we begin to lose nervous tissue around age 30, it is important to exercise since the stress of working out activates the expression of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) genes. BDNF is responsible for growth, differentiation, survival, and repair of brain cells resulting in a denser network of neurons that in turn are better at storing information. It has also been known to strengthen cells and their axons, connect neurons and spark neurogenesis via exercise. This protects existing neurons, promotes plasticity (contributes to the efficiency of information cross the synaptic cleft), and offers reparative effects to injured neurons, decreasing the likelihood of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's With exercise the brain can resist physical shrinkage, and create an increase in both blood vessels and cognitive flexibility. Another scientist, Justin S. Rhodes stated that working out can slow or reverse brain physical and cognitive decay which begins in our late 20's at a rate of 1% each year.
It has been reported that physical INactivity is associated with poorer academic performance and lower scores on neuropsychological tests. Activity, especially aerobic, provides the following benefits: increased skills in multi-tasking, planning, inhibition and helps with memory. Weight bearing activity has only proven to help with memory. However, over-exercising can also inhibit learning so it's important to find a balance.
Michelle W. Voss at the University of Urbana-Champaign stated that both aerobic and strength training are key to maintaining brain and cognitive health. This is big news in the health field and Gretchen Reynolds of The New York Times claimed that it's, "not just a relationship, it IS the relationship". So many people noticed this new trend that Justin S. Rhodes from the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois began his own experiement with mice. He made four groups, the first lived in luxury with hearty meals and comfortable beds. The second group had all of the pleasures of the first group and a running wheel, the third did not live a lavish lifestyle and ate standard food while the final group had running wheels but no toys or treats. The results showed that extra toys and tastes had no real effect on the brain while those mice with a running wheel were healthier and performed better on cognitive tests
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/how-exercise-could-lead-to-a-better-brain.html?pagewanted=all
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