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By Ruxandra Brătășanu
“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” These are the wise words of the famous Harvard Law School graduate, Elle Woods. But is this all exercise can do for us or is there another reason why we should put on our running shoes?
Let me first tell you the story of a real-life Elle Woods who changed the world of neuroscience. Her name was Marian Diamond and she lived in a time when it was believed that the brain’s development is limited by genetics, therefore the adult brain was unable to change. However, Marian had a different view. So, together with a team of scientists, she set out to gather evidence to support this new theory.
The experiment went like this: there were two groups of adult rats. The first got to live in an enriched environment. Picture the Disneyland of rat cages, one with many toys and other rats so that they could play together. The second had to live in an impoverished environment: a small cage with no toys and only one other rat to keep company. Three months later, she checked if there had been any changes to their brains. And just as they had predicted, the ones in the enriched environment showed significant change, their cortex had gotten thicker. In 1964, the first study which demonstrated that the brain could change was published, paving the way for what we today know as neuroplasticity.
Many more experiments were then conducted to determine what element of the enriched environment was the most influential. Surprisingly, a running wheel was the only thing the rats needed to get all the benefits. In other words, exercise is essential to neuroplasticity.
Aside from groundbreaking research, Marian was also a greatly loved professor. Years later, during her course “The Brain and its Potential” at Berkley University a young aspiring scientist fell in love with the brain. Her name was Wendy Suzuki. She went on to study the hippocampus and later build on Marian’s work by studying the effects of exercise on the brain.
So, how does exercise actually improve the brain?
Before I tell you all the science, let’s play a quick game. Imagine it’s a Saturday morning. You wake up at 6:00 am, brush your teeth, put on your workout clothes and head out the door for a morning run. If you’re an early bird, you might be quite excited to start the day like this. But if you’re more of a night owl, let’s just say this isn’t your cup of tea. Regardless of how you begin, picture how you would feel like after completing your run…
Once you’ve caught your breath, you have a burst of energy and a huge increase in mood. You then decide to study for an upcoming exam. You go to your desk and open your books. A pen starts rolling off, but you quickly catch it. After a while, you get up to get some water and suddenly say to yourself: “Wow, studying went great today! I was focused for two hours, usually I get so distracted.”
This story perfectly captures the immediate benefits of exercise. Let’s take a step back and analyse the science behind this new experience! Every time you exercise, your brain takes a neurotransmitter bubble bath, as Dr. Wendy Suzuki calls it. In other words, there is an increase in “feel good” chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. Moreover, your attention span and reaction time, also increase.
Now, imagine you kept exercising every morning for 30 minutes. What would that do for your brain? It would make it bigger. Yes, you read that right. Remember that bubble bath for the brain, there is something more in it: growth factors. These are secreted every time you exercise and, over time, lead to the formation of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis.
This especially happens in two areas: the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functions such as decision making, problem solving and planning. While the hippocampus plays a key role in learning and memory. Specifically, by holding on to short term memories and then transferring them to long term memory, during sleep. So, if you ever wanted to improve your memory to ace your next exams, exercise might just be the secret to increasing your GPA!
Let’s fast forward a few decades. You kept up exercising. Does this habit protect you from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia? It absolutely does. Such diseases target the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. A consistent exercise routine throughout your life will strengthen your brain, therefore delaying their onset.
By now I think you might be wondering: “What is the minimum amount of exercise I need to get all these benefits?” or “What sort of exercise should I be doing?”. Scientists are still working on developing the perfect “exercise prescriptions”. So far, studies show that doing aerobic exercises, meaning activities that get your heart rate up (e.g. power walking or even dancing), for 30 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week is enough to get both the short and long term benefits.
So, to recap everything: exercise immediately improves your mood, attention and reaction time, while in the long run improving your memory and learning ability, as well as protecting you from neurodegenerative diseases in your old age. Could it get any better? It totally can!
What is the one thing that great people have in common? Creativity. Having a wide imagination leads to innovation. Remember the prefrontal cortex… problem solving is one of its main duties which is strongly linked to creativity. Exercise leads to a thicker prefrontal cortex, one with more glial cells and synapses. Therefore, exercise can even make us more creative! If you think about it, don’t most innovators take daily walks?
Now that you have discovered the amazing benefits of exercise, are you going to give it a try? It might just change your life…
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