Exercise Makes You Smarter?

It is commonly said that exercising benefits peoples’ health and that for older people it keeps the mind young. Does physical activity actually have any impact on cognitive function? Boston University School of Medicine researchers found that physical activity improves brain health and cognition. Certain hormones that help improve memory are increased when people exercise. The hormones released are called “growth factors”, which positively correlate to brain health (in the hippocampus) (Christopher Bergland). In another relative study, “Dr. Bruce Spiegelman of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School reported that a molecule called FNDC5 and its byproduct, irisin, become elevated in the brain through endurance exercise” (Christopher Bergland). The increasing levels of irisin cause the molecule to cross the blood brain barrier, which increases the expression of BDNF. BDNF helps to stimulate the growth of new neurons, which is linked to decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression. Researchers believe that an increase BDNF due to exercise can improve memory.

Studies of school-aged children have concluded that regular aerobic exercise helps their memory, attention spans, and inhibit disruptive impulses. In younger adults, their executive functioning reaches its peak, but aerobic exercise can still improve it. Studies show that young adults that exercise frequently “post quicker reaction times, give more accurate responses, and are more effective at detecting errors when they engage in fast-paced tasks” (Annie Murphy Paul). In older adults, research showed that consistent aerobic exercise boots cognitive functions that usually fade with age. This includes length of attention span, switching tasks, and good memory. The study was conducted well since it hit different stages in life where brain development will obviously be different.

While not everyone who is intelligent and has quick reaction times routinely works out, exercise does seem to improve over all cognitive function, even slightly. In general exercising not only releases good hormones that help with memory and reaction time, but it also helps to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression, which disrupts how a person acts. People, especially adults, should exercise regularly to help fuel the mind, stay healthy, and increase cognitive function.

puzzle brain

Sources:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201312/can-physical-activities-improve-fluid-intelligence

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-exercise-boosts-intelligence-2013-3#ixzz3GeCUMKYd

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3 thoughts on “Exercise Makes You Smarter?

  1. Dutt Patel

    I found this to be very interesting because i’m a very physically active individual and I can compare this study to myself. This study concluded that exercise can with increasing attention span, yet I exercise everyday and I still have trouble paying attention. But otherwise I agree with this study, I have noticed personally that exercising can help reduce both stress and depression.

  2. Abigail Kennedy

    Did your articles and studies talk about what kind of exercise influences the hormones in the brain? Not all forms of exercise are the same, and I am curious if they have different effects. For instance, is there a different effect on these hormones when a person is weight-lifting, running on a treadmill, or doing yoga? Also, how long and how often were these forms of exercise monitored in the study? Since there are different physical effects from working out for 20 minutes once or twice a week versus for an hour four/five times a week, I would predict there are differences in the intellectual effects. This kind of reminds me of the article we read in class about kids exercising and doing better in school. These clarifying questions all have different implications on the study’s message depending on the answers.

  3. Maxine Swift Mcgee

    This research reminds me a lot of what we discussed when determining whether or not we should close our bedroom curtains. While research continues about the effects that exercise plays on our learning, most doctors can concur that exercise is really good for our health. The Cleveland Clinic (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/prevention/exercise/exercise-for-your-heart-health) believes that exercise improves heart health, heart disease risk factors, and our strength and feeling of well-being. So while the effects on our education are being evaluated you have nothing to lose besides time to exercise but have a lot to gain.

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