Exercise and Your Brain

If losing weight, getting healthy and looking hotter in your bathing suit aren’t enough

to get you up and moving this summer, how about the effect exercise has on your brain?

Mounting scientific evidence suggests that what's good for our hearts and waistlines also is good for our minds.

“In many ways, exercise optimizes our brain to learn.” says Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston who's at work on a book about exercise and the brain.

Exercise improves circulation throughout the body, including the brain, he explains.

And by now you’ve heard me tell you over and over that exercise boosts metabolism, decreases stress, improves mood and attention, and just makes you feel good, all of which help the brain perform better.

Our brains contain two types of “Matter.” ----Gray Matter is the thin layer of cells that are involved in learning and memory ----White matter is the insulating sheath containing the nerve fibers that transmit signals throughout the brain, like an electrical cord. As we age, especially after 30--- (yeah, we’re not talking old folks home here) these tissues shrink. 

BUT, the studies have shown that the fitter the body, the less shrinkage to these tissues.

So as you shrink your waistline, and improve you’re overall health and state of well being, you’ll be improving your mental-processing capabilities.

Here are some guidelines:

Both aerobic and strength training exercises produced better results than just one on its own. (So include some resistance training with your cardio a few days a week, lift some weights!)

Older adults benefit more than younger adults (because the decline in mental abilities is age related.)

You want to aim for more than 30 minutes of exercise per session, which produces the greatest benefit for revving up brain power.

The best news is it’s NEVER too late to start benefitting both physically and mentally from an exercise routine. Studies have shown that even sedentary adults over the age of 60 significantly improved their mental-processing abilities by just walking 45 minutes three days a week.

Another great reason to exercise!