When it comes to exercise, we tend to focus on the physical benefits. We tell ourselves, youâre going to get great abs, or youâll finally be able to wear that amazing bikini to the beach! But if you need some extra motivation to go to the gym, there are many excellent reasons to work out.
Whatâs often overlooked is that there are amazing mental benefits to regular exercise. Here are 7 ways that working out regularly can boost your brain power:
1.Exercise lowers your stress level
Feeling stressed about work or just life in general? Try a quick workout to help alleviate feelings of stress. Youâll not only feel better, but your cells will actually be less stressed as well. Thatâs according to a 2010 study at the University of California, San Francisco, which showed that the cells of women who worked out showed fewer signs of aging than the cells of women who didnât exercise.
2.Regular exercise gives you more energy to get things done
The excuse that you donât have enough time to exercise needs to be permanently put to rest. The opposite is true: people who exercise regularly are more productive overall and have increased energy throughout the day, according to a study 2008 by the University of Georgia.
3.Exercise makes you happier
Regular exercise helps boost the production of âhappyâ chemicals in our brains, according to a 2010 study that showed working out increases the GABA chemical which is responsible for improved mood.
4.Exercise improves your self-image
You wonât just look better to othersâexercise makes you feel better about your overall self-image.
5.Exercise helps you learn better
Regular exercise is proven to increase the production of so-called âgrowth factorsâ in your brain. Basically, it helps form new connections in your brain, improving your ability to learn new things.
6.Exercise improves your cognitive abilities as you age
As we get older, our bodies age and so do our brains. One way to stay mentally fit is to work out the brain with âbrain games,â but physical exercise actually is more effective at slowing cognitive decline. A study conducted in Scotland of 70-year-olds, showed that participants who exercised regularly saw better cognitive results than those who only exercised their brains.
7.Exercise improves you memory
Regular exercise helps spur the growth of cells in your hippocampus, the part of your brain largely responsible for memory. In a study of 9 and 10 year olds, conducted at the University of Illinois in 2010, children who got plenty of exercise had a bigger hippocampus, the area of the brain which is largely responsible for memory.
Overall wellness is incomplete without regular exercise
When it comes down to it, your body is not going to be at its best without regular exercise, and that includes your brain. Whoever wrote that our minds were separate from our bodies was terribly wrongâthey are connected in vital ways, and if you neglect your body, youâre neglecting your brain as well.
