Talking yourself into exercising just got a lot easier. You know many of the benefits of exercise like lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar and weight management. But did you know, exercise changes your brain in three ways: physiologically, physically, and psychologically. Exercise adds new brain cells and changes the composition of your neurotransmitters; dopamine, serotonin and acetylcholine which elevate mood and focus. Moving your body enhances your ability for memory recall, learning and problem solving. Perhaps the biggest advantage to moving your body is the one that will get you off the couch and playing pickleball today: exercise keeps dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases at bay. Yes, exercise has many benefits.
First let’s talk about the “runner’s high.” (Though any aerobic activity, such as hiking, dancing or a game of tennis will produce the same effects.) The runner’s high is in reference to the neurotransmitters that are released to elevate mood.
Exercise triggers dopamine, and serotonin. These neurotransmitters (hormones) can decrease feelings of anxiety and depression. Dopamine is the hormone that allows you to go for a goal. When you attain a goal it feels fantastic. That’s dopamine. You want more. The more you exercise, the more dopamine flows. Serotonin is another feel good hormone released by exercise. When you have this neurotransmitter flooding your brain you feel that peaceful high. Movement keeps you happy.
(Additional information on runner’s high: https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/t21r93/runners_high_what_is_it_how_do_you_get_it_ what/?rdt=53022 )
In addition, Your body produces endocannabinoids as a direct result of aerobic exercise. Cannabinoids essentially block pain receptors and elevate mood. You may notice the word cannabinoid looks a lot like the word cannabis. That’s because they are made of the same chemicals. Endocannabinoids are made in the body, specifically in the brain during and after exercise. Physiologically, your brain has just produced a mood enhancing drug, naturally. These advantages are immediate which can last for up to 2 hours following an aerobic workout.
Acetylcholine is also produced during exercise. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter which works primarily in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is responsible for functions like digestion and heart rate regulation. But acetylcholine has another interesting role in your body. It’s crucial for muscle contractions, memory, learning, attention, and arousal. Keeping your body moving long term makes you smarter. (Read more about Acetylcholine here: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24568-acetylcholine-ach)
The advantages of exercise keep coming. You can think of your brain as a mental muscle that gets stronger as you exercise your body. Long term regular exercise triggers neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells. Exercise stimulates the production of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which grows brain cells and strengthens the connection between them. BDNF also promotes neural maturation, and maintenance. In addition, it helps neurons form synapses, which are communication connections between nerve cells. BDNF production also aids in learning and focus. As you exercise your brain grows too.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3310485/
Plus there is more, a lot more.When your body is moving, the brain is lulled into a hypnotic trance of sorts. (For the purpose of this article we will use walking as our exercise of choice.) Walking tricks the primal parts of your brain into believing it is moving. Specifically moving away from danger and towards safety. Or moving from being “stuck” to a solution. Both of which have a physical and psychological calming effect. With its left right rhythmic movement, walking, soothes your limbic system and amygdala. The Amygdala is calmed by the rhythmic pattern of exercise.This pattern is called Oscillatory motion. The Amygdala, along with the limbic system that surrounds it, is where the brain first formed. Primal urges such as fear, survival and sex are housed in the amygdala. If your body perceives the environment as threatening, your amygdala and limbic system are in overdrive.Oscillatory motion allows the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus to work their magic.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the part of the brain that is responsible for higher learning and abstract thinking. The hippocampus is where long term memories and emotional processing occur. If the amygdala and the limbic system are working hard, the PFC and hippocampus are offline. Physical activity increases blood flow to both these areas of the brain where problem solving, focus, decision making and contextual processing are stored. Exercise generates new cells here too. Pumping up these muscles is central to your long term mental health. Small, underdeveloped or in severe cases, shrunken PFC and hippocampus’ are extremely susceptible to dementia. Dementia is a heartbreaking neurodegenerative disease that as of the writing of this article, can not be reversed, However, exercise can delay the onset and slow down dementia and other neural diseases and lucky for you, you can prevent it from happening in the first place.
In case you missed it:
- Movement keeps your mood .
- Exercise is the mechanism that delivers pain relieving chemicals to your
- Staying active enhances focus and learning which makes you more
- Moving your body grows brain cells!
- Body movement keeps your brain young by staving off
Thirty minutes, that’s it, just thirty minutes each day is all it takes to reap the rewards of this practice. The method doesn’t really matter, as long as you get your heart pumping. You should be slightly out of breath. Meaning you could talk, but probably not sing. It doesn’t take a gym membership nor any fancy equipment.
You simply need a good pair of shoes and be willing to sweat. Dance with your kids, play a friendly game of tennis with your partner or go paddle boarding with a friend. Take a quick walk in your neighborhood or go swimming. Can’t get outside? There are literally thousands of programs on DVD and even more on TV available at no cost. Thirty minutes is doable. Especially when you remind yourself of the value you’re getting for those thirty minutes.
Being active makes you more attractive physically and mentally. Both your body and brain need you to move in order to thrive. Moving your body on the outside moves your body on the inside which is probably the most important job of exercise. You knew before you started reading this article that exercise is good for you. You knew that it kept your blood sugar, blood pressure and your weight down, You even knew it kept your lungs and heart healthy. Now you know that exercise does so much more. Perhaps that knowledge was’t enough for you to take up exercise on a regular basis. However, knowing the “hidden” advantages of what movement can do for you, the decision is really not a decision any longer.
