Exercise and the Brain
I had a conversation with a former athlete who refuses to exercise at all. I mean no weightlifting, no cardio, no stretching, no nothing. They have good genetics, and they are leaving it at that.
Well, I started to write my opinion on why exercise is so important to the heart, the lungs, the fascia, the muscles, the tendons, etc. I thought about describing the benefits for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. The problem is that we are inundated with that information. So, I thought that I would take a different angle while telling you a true story.
I was exhausted this weekend. I have been working 7 days a week straight for 9 months. I have been simply existing in different levels of exhaustion for a couple of months now. I awoke, still tired but determined to build energy for the day, so I went for a hike. Yeah. That's right! I was tired, so I went walking for over an hour. I had a jam-packed day, so an hour was all that I could afford. Less than thirty minutes in, I could feel my body being restored and refreshed. We may immediately think of sleep as the only way to deal with being tired, but I have definitely learned that one of the ways that I can re-energize my body is to exercise. It works for me.
You see, exercise is vital not just for all the reasons that I have referenced earlier. It is vital for keeping your brain in great shape...for revitalizing and restoring dopamine while lowering cortisol. Exercise releases growth factors not just in your muscles but in your brain as well. I like to think of it as increasing your capacity. I've been listening to several neuroscientists on the subject, and they tout the ability of exercise to help your brain to grow and protect it against dementia. Through brain scans, they have identified that it is not just a feeling or an exercise/runner's high, but that exercise creates an observable difference in your brain.
Hopefully, this can shed some light on yet another reason why exercise is great for you, your skin, your body, your mental health, and your overall health. Exercise can greatly increase the quality of your life and your longevity.
Thirty minutes for three days a week- let's all try to do something. I believe in you! You can do it!
SOURCES:
Konopka LM. How exercise influences the brain: a neuroscience perspective. Croat Med J. 2015 Apr;56(2):169-71. doi: 10.3325/cmj.2015.56.169. PMID: 25891878; PMCID: PMC4410170.