Exercising is very healthy for both your body and your mind . In addition to helping you stay healthy and fit, exercise also helps you feel better about yourself, have more energy, regulate stress and combat anxiety and depression.
However, the power of exercise on your body and mind goes further. Recent studies have shown that physical activity is also beneficial for the brain , improving the ability to both remember and learn .
“The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body is. The more efficient your body is, the better you will feel and the more you will use your talent to produce incredible results.”
-Anthony Robbins-
Aerobic exercise can promote learning
Several studies have linked improvements in physical fitness to significant improvements in memory and learning abilities. For example, one study found that children who were aerobically fit scored higher on memory tests than those with low fitness.
Researchers have also suggested that combining exercise and studying helps improve memory and makes studying less difficult , especially when faced with complex and challenging tasks.
Exercising helps develop new brain cells
According to experts, cardiovascular exercise not only enhances learning, but also causes real changes inside the brain. The hormones secreted after exercise have beneficial effects on improving attention, increasing levels of arousal and perception.
Cardiovascular exercise promotes cell growth, mood regulation, and the release of hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
Furthermore, studies have shown that intense aerobic activities such as running can increase neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons) and improve the chances that those newly formed cells can survive and thrive.
Exercise has also been found to stimulate the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF ) which helps preserve brain cells and stimulates the growth of new neurons.
Exercise and cognitive reserve
Several studies have shown that the benefits of exercise are cumulative , that is, they affect cognitive reserve (the ability to tolerate changes in brain structures related to age or a given pathology).
Increasing cognitive reserve allows for a longer protective effect against certain neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
What type of exercise is best to promote learning?
Although exercise in general is beneficial for the brain , some types of training are better at promoting certain types of learning than others, since each affects our mind in a certain way.
Most studies suggest that cardiovascular exercise offers the greatest benefits for increasing memory capacity and improving learning. However, there is also evidence that strength training can benefit the brain and that even moderate exercise can lead to such brain benefits.
Researchers have found that moderate exercise, such as walking and lifting weights for toning purposes, can help stave off memory problems associated with the aging process.
One study also found that older adults who had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment showed improvements in memory and language skills after following an exercise program of two weekly 90-minute sessions of aerobic exercise, strength training and balance training for one year.