Exercise and the brain

I have always been a frequent exerciser my entire life. I can still remember the first time my dad made me get on the treadmill. I was complaining about the 7 minute run he was about to make me do, and he said, "You will increase by a minute each week until you reach 20 minutes." My mouth probably fell open because I thought it unfathomable that I would ever be able to run for 20 minutes straight. Now I exercise daily - and have had a few occurrences of exercising too much. I have found a love of exercising because it alleviates my stress and makes me feel good, as well as keeping my body in good shape. Recently I have learned a little more about the actual effects that exercise has on the brain and why it happens. Before, I sought exercise as a good escape, because here I would get the "runner's high." That feeling of euphoria made me want to go back for more, whereas a lot of people can't seem to discipline themselves to exercise regularly. All I knew is it made me feel better about myself, so obviously I wanted to keep doing it. Now I see more important aspects of working out that make it essential to keep physical activity in my daily routine to keep my brain young and healthy. Here are a few things about exercise you maybe didn't know before:

• Physical exercise increases blood flow to the brain because it improves the ability of your heart to pump blood throughout the body. Pumping more blood results in more supplies of oxygen, glucose, and nutrients to the brain, which enhances overall functioning of the brain.
• Exercising encourages the growth of new brain cells by boosting levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is a chemical that is involved in neurogenesis - the growth of new brain cells.

So while exercising, you are making new brain cells that make you smarter! Not only are you doing something good for your body, your brain is growing and functioning is increasing. 

Research on laboratory rats has shown that exercise generates new brain cells in the temporal lobes, involved in memory, and the prefrontal cortex, involved in planning and judgment (executive functioning). 

As long as you keep up the physical activity, you will continue to stimulate these new cells which will keep them from dying off. If you don't continue to exercise, they will only survive about four weeks, so keep exercising! 

• Physical activity boosts memory by reducing stress. Stress causes your adrenal glands to produce excessive amounts of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress, which kills cells in the hippocampus, therefore impairing memory capacity. Increasing exercise will reduce cortisol levels which will result in better memory. Not only is this extremely helpful to you in life (school, work, etc.), but higher levels of cortisol have also been found in people with Alzheimer's disease, so exercising has other long-term benefits. Exercising also increases frontal lobe activation, which is especially important for older people because cognitive impairment starts. Physical activity keeps the brain engaged, which will keep it young. Increasing activation in the frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex helps you stay on task with goal-oriented endeavors (planning, scheduling, and inhibiting impulses). You will find that you are more focused and can stick to your plans better, whether that be with studying, keeping on a diet, sleep schedules, you name it. If you're finding difficulty inhibiting impulses, exercising can help activate the part of the brain dealing with executive functioning, so that will most likely increase your outlook on life and make your self-esteem go up. 

Recently I've had a difficult time with scheduling and keeping to my schedule, as well as giving into impulses of eating desserts. I was working out excessively to make me feel better and burn the calories I was consuming. Also, the major part of this was my sleeping schedule. I was depriving myself of sleep from my job and working out and that reduces activation in the prefrontal cortex, so I had a very difficult time inhibiting my impulses and sticking to a schedule. This in turn made me feel worse about myself because I felt like I was losing control, when I'm usually good about staying focused. I caught up with my sleep and let my body recuperate, which helped me immensely. Now I hardly have a problem sticking to my plans. I'm more productive and I'm working out a healthy amount. If you're experiencing trouble with executive functioning, you might want to look at your sleeping pattern and make adjustments if necessary. Sleeping effects brain functioning more than you may realize. Getting adequate sleep each night will keep your brain attentive during the day so you can be productive and learn and remember the best. Also, writing down your goals for the day, week, and the future will help you monitor your progress. 

• Like I mentioned earlier, exercise enhanced my mood. This is because exercising allows for the amino acid L-tryptophan to enter the brain. The neurotransmitter serotonin is derived from L-tryptophan, which helps to balance your mood. Serotonin contributes to feelings of well-being and happiness, so increasing serotonin will make you feel happier. To give some perspective, low serotonin levels are found in people who are depressed, so increasing physical activity if you're experiencing feelings of depression can help a lot. I've also had experience with this and it helped me more than I can probably imagine. Working out was really the only enjoyable part of my day because it made me feel happier.
• People who exercise more tend to get into less trouble because they are more happy and less impulsive. When you feel good about yourself, you're more likely to continue doing good things for yourself. This also goes along with exercising and eating better. Most people find that when they exercise they eat better, and when they're not, they tend to eat worse. Since you're doing good for your body and brain, you're more likely to continue doing good things. Also, if you find it difficult to stay with a diet without working out, it might help to start because of the increased activation in the prefrontal cortex. Following through on your dieting plans will be easier than if you don't exercise. 
• Going back to my earlier point about getting adequate sleep every night, exercising helps you sleep. Exercising normalizes the production of melatonin in your brain and improves your sleeping patterns. Getting a good amount of sleep is essential for your brain to work as efficiently as possible, so they work together in this sense. Doing one will get the other, and you need both, so you're killing two birds with one stone. 

I hope this gives some interesting insight into how the brain benefits from exercise. I have been reading Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Daniel G. Amen, M.D., and this is where I received most of the information from. It's a great book and I recommend it to anyone. Here's the link if you would like to take a closer look at the book. Enjoy :)