Benefits of Exercise on the Brain and Steps to Getting a Brain Boost through Aerobics and Physical Exercise

Benefits of physical and aerobic exercise are stupendous when considering brain building and optimal thinking techniques today. A simple solution to optimizing your brain may lie in a disciplined and smart approach to adding physical exercise that will not only make your whole body healthier but improve and maintain cognitive abilities.

Why is Physical Exercise Good for my Brain

Blood flow is increased to every organ in your body during erobic exercise. Dr. Daniel Amen of the Amen Clinics notes, among others referenced, how physical exercise will of course make the whole body healthier but also actually stimulate neurogenesis and the ability of the body to create new neurons. Even though exercise can relax one from a day's stressful activities, at the same time exercising also can elicit cortical alertness. Good aerobic exercise can even spur your nervous system into a state of arousal.

Now exercise effects on the brain from physical and aerobic activity can be of course a benefit as it could put you in a state ideal for mental activity but a word of caution here as you certainly wouldn't want to reach this state shortly before some needed deep sleep. It is advised to exercise at least several hours before bedtime, no closer. You want to avoid exercise before bedtime but if you have to exercise before sleep, then reading a book before retiring may be the correct step but don't choose an excitable book as a murder mystery if you want to sleep soundly after exercise. Many recommend a guided relaxation meditation as an option too.

Brain Exercise Health

Aerobic exercise effects on the brain have been professed for some time but ...
Studies and brain research in recent years have confirmed this and led to detailed findings.

Jean Pierre Changeux from the Pasteur Institute in Paris along with a researcher from the Developmental Biology Institute of Marseilles, Christopher Henderson, found that the growth of axons is stimulated when muscles are moved. This simple relationship is an important link for us to show how intelligence is affected by physical and aerobic exercise since intelligence is directly related to the number of axons we have.

Aerobic exercise has been shown to improve the speed of recall.

Work by William Greenough, a professor at the University of Illinois Beckman Institute has shown how blood and oxygen to the brain is increased as here is actually an increase in capillaries around the neurons in the brain.

Aerobic Exercise that helps brain activity has been defined as such to keep blood flowing to organs. Covert Bailey has described this aerobic exercise to be at a "comfortable pace" or when your pulse is 220 minus your age and then you take the result and multiply by 0.65 or 0.80 if you are an athlete. Of course, this is only a guide for healthy individuals and people with any health issues would want to consult with their physician as needed. Some general guidelines he noted can be suggested here, the exercise should last at this pace at least 12 minutes while exercising should include the lower body. Note that he recommended the exercise time to be non stop for the 12 minutes. Overall, you would want to work up to forty to forty five minutes on five days per week.

Exercising can be most beneficial at certain times of your day.

Before a time when mental alertness is desired and also when the most stressful time of your day is over can both be optimum times to exercise. Get aerobic exercise as brisk walking or even a fitness class for thirty to forty five minutes a day, five days a week. Most people switch routines for these days, all good.

Long Term Effects of Exercise on the Brain

It is noted that exercise is most beneficial for your brain processing when it is a lifelong activity and you are preserving mental function. Sure, you can start walking regularly at any age, even going to the gym, joining a water aerobics class even after retiring and still get benefits. However, start as early as you can. If you spend a sedentary lifetime, then start, exercise will not be as effective.