Exercise is often associated with beautiful bodies doing amazing things. However, the brain Scientists think its time we viewed exercise more for how beautiful and accomplished it makes our brain.
The brain is a dynamic, active organ in which new nerve and nerve connections are created throughout a lifetime, particularly in the memory and thinking parts of the brain (Voss et al. 2019).
Brain researchers are finding that different types, amounts, and intensities of physical activity improve brain function even after a single workout (Vivar 2016). A recent U.S. study reports that 1 single bout of moderate exercise improves memory. Proving that exercise may stimulate and bolster the capacity of memory networks in the brain and offer protection against age-related declines in memory (Won et al 2019).
The participants of the study were healthy adults who performed one, 30-minute session of continuous cycling on a stationary bike at a perceived exertion level of “hard”. All participants showed improved brain function after the exercise, particularly in the semantic memory test. Semantic memory is all the stuff we remember and take for granted like the names of colors, the sounds of letters, the capitals of countries and other basic facts acquired over a lifetime (Binder & Desai 2011).
Day-by-day, the benefits of physical activity add up making the brain more beautiful, agile and adaptive. Able to perform incredible feats like memorising facts, phone numbers and birthdays, grasping new concepts, mastering skills, compute mathematical equations and make instant, often life-determining decisions.
The research suggests that just as exercise acts as a stress to the system to promote recovery and adaptation, the same processes occur in the brain. As with exercise, the fitter your brain becomes the more your brain function continues to improve, particularly semantic memory.
If ‘looking good naked’ is not enough to get you moving … do it for your beautiful brain instead.
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