6. Slows Down Brain Atrophy
Once one enters their thirties, what the brain naturally does is begins to lose its volume, this especially in the hippocampus region. What this affects is memory and cognitive ability, while opening the doorway to developing dementia. What studies show, is that exercise increases volume in the hippocampus, while improving spatial memory.
It’s no coincidence when it comes to the relationship between an individuals exercise frequency, and increased brain volume. The amount of exercise performed per week, increases the size of the right hippocampus. What regularly working out, does is protects the brain from naturally shrinking.
5. Adds More Brain Cells
When aging, what happens is the brain tissues begin to diminish, while the growth of new cells slows down. What’s known however is that exercising, despite ones age, does is reverses this function, as what it does is increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain. This process is known as neurogenesis, which is the formation of new nerve cells.
Exercising also helps a function known as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which accelerates the growth of new brain cells, this especially in the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain that’s responsible for memory. The more that you exercise, the more BDNF your brain produces.
4. Can Increase IQ
There’s compounding evidence that exercising can make you smarter. This especially in children, and the reason why Physical Education is a core curriculum in school, as it’s shown to enhance their mental functioning, which is vital for cognitive development. It’s found that especially aerobic exercise training, improves executive functioning.
Exercising not only improves IQ levels, but also improves overall cognitive development. The key it appears is cardiovascular exercises, which accelerates stimulation to the brain. What’s also known is that aerobic exercise increases mental speed processing.
