Quick workouts make your brain bigger
A recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that exercising for 10 minutes three times a week can make your BRAIN bigger.
Scientists in Canada and the US set out to explore the relationship between getting moderate to vigorous exercise around two to three days a week and the effects on brain volume.
After examining MRI brain scans of more than 10,000 people, and tracking their health behaviors, the researchers discovered those who exercised regularly had bigger brains.
The research has promising implications for understanding dementia and how to prevent it. Engaging in regular physical activity is believed to clear out plaques in the brain that can lead to dementia and improve cognitive functioning.
Dr Cyrus Raji, the lead researcher behind the study, said: ‘Our research supports earlier studies that show being physically active is good for your brain.
'Exercise not only lowers the risk of dementia but also helps in maintaining brain size, which is crucial as we age.’
Around three-quarters of study participants engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity such as cycling, swimming, and walking four times per week on average for at least 10 minutes per day.
The more a person exercised, the larger their brain volume appeared in MRI scans.
Physically active people had larger volumes of gray matter and white matter, both crucial tissues in the brain.
Gray matter is crucial to sensory and language processing in the brain. Around 40 percent of the brain consists of gray matter.
White matter is found in the deeper tissues of the brain that foster communication between nerve cells, providing pathways for transmitting signals between different regions of the brain.
They also had a larger hippocampus, the region of the brain most associated with the conversion of short-term memories to long-term ones. In cases of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, the hippocampus is one of the first parts of the brain to suffer.
The neurological benefits of exercise run the gamut from growing new brain cells to counteract those lost with age and improving oxygen flow to the brain to reducing inflammation and protecting against cell damage caused by free radicals.
