Knowingly or unknowingly, you are doing quite a lot for your brain to function optimally and boost its mental capabilities.
By Michael Morelli
All of you must be familiar with the proverb “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” What if someone told you that this age-old sentence has a scientific bearing to it. You may be exercising every day for certain goals that you want to achieve like to get the summer body or to fit the clothes well, or it may be to prevent the chances of developing stroke, heart disease or diabetes. But, knowingly or unknowingly, you are doing quite a lot for your brain to function optimally and boost its mental capabilities.
Recent researchers have proven the fact that exercise, especially the cardiovascular ones, go a long way in refreshing your mind and contributes to an increased capacity of your brain to do your daily work in the best way possible.
The correlation between exercise and brain
The physical aspects of exercising regularly have been a scientific fact for a long time. It helps in reducing elevated blood pressure, is instrumental in fighting depression and also makes you look and feel better. The mental benefit of exercising is a more recent discovery as studies have shown that people who perform some kind of daily routine tend to be more active than the sedentary type of people who spend most of their day without any marked physical activity.
This claim has been backed by researchers of the University of British Columbia who have proved the fact that aerobic exercises which get the sweat glands of the body and the heart pumping, also stimulate the hippocampus region of the brain which is responsible for learning and immaculate verbal memory.
One point to note here is that muscle building or resistance training exercise did not contribute that much to the added functionality of the brain, it was the cardiovascular aerobic exercise which was more responsible for the same.
The scientific explanation
The explanation behind the fact that exercise improves brain power is that on performing certain kind of physical activity the blood circulation and supply to the brain increases which causes increased oxygen flow and also reduces the detrimental free radicals from reaching the brain itself.
This increase in oxygen supply to the brain has been ably complemented by an increase in mental sharpness and better memory and thinking capacity, skills that are instrumental in carrying out your daily activities either in studies or at work.
Exercise also causes extensive and increased wiring of the brain by acting directly on the neurovascular system and blood vessels, aiding in their creation, prolonged survival and improved resistance to most kind of damages caused by some reasons.
Testing the credibility of the claim
What is the best way to know if all the theories that are being talked about here are true? Go ahead and try it by yourself. You could hit a gym for the necessary cardio in the morning, but it is not an absolute necessity because these kinds of aerobic exercises can be easily done. Hop on to your sports shoes and go for a walk, even a jog, if you fancy and you will find your heart rate going up in no time.
The only thing that a gym may offer extra is the necessary amount of motivation which you may be lacking if you are relying on yourself. One important aspect of aerobic exercise is that it can be done along with household chores as well. Vigorous mopping of the floor or going up and down the stairs, multiple times also provide the same kind of benefit. According to some research done, ideally, a 150 minutes long exercise spaced over a week should be enough to push that necessary oxygen to your brain for optimal functioning.
It is also important to maintain a healthy diet during the day as otherwise the burn from the exercise will be used up in killing the calories piled up on eating unhealthy food. You could always look out for appropriate diet plans that go with these kinds of aerobic exercises for best results. You could even give that extra push to your brain by including certain food products like fish, blueberries, turmeric, broccoli, almonds and other seeds in your diet which have reportedly been known to boost your mental prowess.
Exercising for some time daily to have more mental fitness and being able to work more efficiently is surely a good enough time. It is, therefore, time to quit the comforts of your bed and sofa and get active and the positive results will be there to show.
Michael Morelli is a writer who loves to write the article on health & fitness. He is always involved in fitness. He always believes in hard work & due to his hard work he has completed 5 fitness certifications. In his articles, he always mentions the benefits of protein, protein powder for your workout, how diet plans work.
Brain power stock photo by Alexander_P/Shutterstock
