EXERCISE ACTIVE BODY = ACTIVE MIND
HOW DOES EXERCISE AFFECT OUR BRAIN?
Physical activities and exercise improves the function and the performance of every organ in our body. Recent scientific studies have also shown that our brain benefits a great deal from exercise.
It is easier to understand how every organ in our body responds to the physical challenges of aerobic exercise by forming new blood vessels, by increasing muscle mass, and by functionally becoming more energy efficient. But, it is much more difficult to understand how our brain could benefits from physical exercise since our brain has no muscles to flex.
We all know that our brain can benefits from cognitive challenges such as thinking, planning, writing, problem solving and learning.
How does physical activity, which devoid of cognitive challenges to our brain, improve the function and the performance of our brain?
Even though we were all taught in school that once we reach adulthood, our brain stops growing new nerve cells (neurons) and starts losing significant amount of its nerve cells by getting old. Could it be possible that this is not true? Maybe our brain is capable of growing new nerve cells and increasing the synaptic connections between existing millions of nerve cells, under the demand of different circumstances.
In the January 2020 issue of Scientific Americanjournal, two neuroscientist D. A. Raichlen and G. E. Alexander have written an interesting article using their own studies as well as other scientists studies to try to answer these questions from a Darwinian evolution point of view.
These brain research scientists have shown that even after adulthood, the brain is capable of generating new nerve cells - not only by cognitive demands but also from the demand of physical exercise. Research has shown that mice running on wheel led the generation of the new nerve cells in the hippocampus region of the brain, which is responsible for memory formation and recall. Scientists also noticed that this process is tied to the production of a neuropeptideprotein molecule called “brain – derived neurotrophic factor” (BDNF).
Many studies have also established that exercise has the same effects on the human brain with the production of BDNF. That is why exercise may help to reduce or prevent the risk of Alzheimer’sand many other degenerative brain disorders.
Cognitively engaged exercises may be more beneficial and even augment the formation of new neurons, and increase the connectivity between the existing nerve cells by exploiting physiological pathways between body and the brain. This means that it had been used by our hunter – gatherer ancestors. Our ancient ancestors had to multitask while hunting, by thinking how to find food, where to go, how fast to run as well as how to protect themselves from existing dangers.
Therefore, I think it’s more beneficial for us to think about things, about how to solve the problems of our daily life while we are exercising, instead of listening to music with ear buds. And we should always try do our aerobic exercise in the open air, closer to nature instead of in a closed space or in traffic polluted city streets.
