Janet's Fitness Blog

4 Ways Exercise Boosts Your Brain

Posted on February 18th, 2012

More and more research suggests exercising can do everything from slowing the aging process to helping children learn to read.

What does exercising do for your brain     

1. Prevents memory loss. As we get older, our brain density decreases. In mice, exercising causes them to grow new brain cells, and recent studies suggest that the same happens to people. Working out can help stave off memory loss and preserve higher-order thinking. Another study indicates that exercising can help prevent Alzheimer’s.?

2. All A’s. Exercising increases blood flow to the brain, bringing it more oxygen and glucose. The increased brain activity carries over to learning; several studies have shown that kids who exercise regularly do better in school. Exercising helps improve balance, spatial relations, and rhythm—skills that can help with reading and language acquisition. Getting children into fitness when they’re young will help them learn to make exercise a part of their lives.

3. Don’t worry, be happy. Exercising helps relieve anxiety and depression, sometimes as well as or better than medications. Some doctors are even using exercise to help treat learning disorders (like dyslexia) and attention deficit disorder (ADD). And the effects of exercise on your mood last as long as you continue to exercise, helping prevent relapses of mood disorders.

4. Longevity. Reducing your brain’s exposure to insulin may increase your lifespan. One way to get that insulin down? Living a healthy lifestyle. There are so many health benefits you can get from exercising, many of which can extend your life, that this new information hardly sounds like news.
Young to old, exercising can sharpen your wits while it slims your hips. Of course, all of these brain-boosting effects only occur with regular exercise, so Keep Pushing Play!

February 18th, 2012 by Janet Hern
Posted in Fitness |

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