Simple activities restore your gray matter…and more
Most of us think about movement, exercise, and fitness in terms of making our bodies healthier. But research also confirms that physical activity — not to mention regular workouts — can grow your brain and have a dramatic impact on improving your mind and memory both near- and long-term.
Exercise Reverses Aging…Of Your Brain
Take the case of Olga Kotelko, who even at 93 was a successful track-and-field athlete. She held a number of world records and earned hundreds of gold medals in competition.
When researchers studied her brain, it looked very different from those of other 90-somethings. Olga’s white matter — the cells that transmit messages from one part of the brain to another — showed fewer abnormalities.
And her hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, was larger. Her brain seemed much younger than her age!
Another study of men and women ages 60 to 80 showed that the most physically active participants had healthier brains than did the more sedentary volunteers — especially in the parts involved in memory and cognition. And none of these folks worked out like Olga, a champion athlete. They simply walked, gardened, and moved more each day than the sedentary participants.
So, your brain, which shrinks with age, can be grown simply by walking. And if walking can grow your freakin’ brain: 1. Make a habit of parking farther from the store! 2. Imagine what some real exercise can do!
But as the headline suggests, here’s the upshot: Not only is it never too late to start exercising, but you don’t have to run marathons to get the brain benefits of exercise. Hell, you barely have to exercise to get the brain benefits of exercise.
3 Ways to Grow Your Brain Without a Gym Membership
Take a Stand: A pile of research shows that just standing — even if you don’t walk or run — can improve your health. So ideally, you’re using a standing desk. But you can just set a timer to remind you to get up briefly every 30 minutes or so. (Just standing up also refreshes your brain with tons of good brain-focusing neurochemicals!)
Take a Walk: Just taking a brisk walk three times a week can increase the size of your hippocampus and improve your memory.
Take a Hike: There’s also lots of evidence that walking in nature benefits the brain and your cognition. As little as 30 minutes can yield real improvements.
Next level up could be light resistance training – research suggests that just a few sessions a week may slow the age-related shrinking that occurs in some parts of our brains.
And yes, a more vigorous workout does your brain even more good. Regular exercise increases your brain’s neurotransmitters and helps balance these chemicals in your brain’s arousal center – which means that after a vigorous workout, you will be much calmer, more focused, and less irritable!
Yay for Calm plus Focus minus Grumpy!
Bless,
APB
Alan P. Brown is an internationally recognized ADHD/Productivity Coach, TEDx Speaker, and creator of the award-winning ADD Crusher™ ‘virtual coach’ video/audio program for ADHD adults.
