The Benefits of Exercise for The Brain

For most people, spending time going for a jog or at the gym is almost always about the body: keeping it healthy, losing weight, and increasing strength or stamina. But the brain also benefits immensely from consistent workout and exercise regimes, and countless studies have shown how much more efficient and healthy the brains are of those that tend to exercise more regularly.

These are some of the top benefits that the brain receives from exercise.

  1. Cognitive Decline Prevention

As we get older, our brain tends to decline in a number of ways, which can, in some cases, lead to cognitive problems later on in life, such as dementia or Alzheimer. These conditions effectively kill brain cells over time, causing the brain to shrink, and lowering its ability to process information, recall memory, and to keep itself healthy. Exercise, especially between the ages of 25 and 45, has shown to slow down and sometimes altogether stop this mental decline, boosting the chemicals that repair and maintain the hippocampus, the part of the brain that’s important for memory and learning.

  1. Reduced Anxiety

For many, anxiety can be a debilitating condition that can leave them unable to deal with many of the hurdles that life tends to put in our way every now and again, and one of the ways that those suffering from anxiety can reduce it is through regular exercise. Studies have shown that people’s anxiety can immediately be cut down after moderate to high intensity exercise, such as jogging or swimming. It’s not short-term either, with the same studies showing that anxiety could be reduced for longer periods of time if the exercise remained consistent enough.

  1. Improved Memory

Regular activity can boost the brain’s ability to create new memories and to learn new skills and information. The hippocampus has been shown to generate new cells after a bout of exercise, the same part of the brain responsible for learning and memory, and that the more physical activity performed, the more powerful the response from the brain. This type of brain stimulation is even more important for young children, as it can lead to higher learning abilities later in life, as well as better memory creation and recall.

  1. Addiction Control

Dopamine is a chemical that’s released by the brain after a pleasurable experience, which is why it’s known as the reward chemical. Dopamine is released after any from of pleasure, whether it’s tobacco, drugs, or alcohol, but also from other sources, such as exercise or gaining a win at a skrill online casino Australia. Those that participate in exercise release enough dopamine that it can work as a substitute for taking more harmful substances, effectively working as a means of addiction control over time. Even short sessions of exercise have this effect, and can be especially helpful for those trying to recover from an alcohol addiction. Reducing the need for alcohol and tobacco is important for the entire body, as both have long-lasting damaging effects that can cause a person’s body processes to become disrupted after enough time as passed while using either of the substances.