Yahoo Lifestyle This One Activity Is Amazing For Your Brain—and It's Super Easy to Do
Keeping your brain in tip-top shape is important (obviously). Your brain is responsible for helping you make good decisions, maintain a positive mood, remember your to-do list, reminisce on meaningful memories and more.
Thankfully, this task isn’t a hard one; there are many ways to give your brain extra stimulation. Playing word games, eating brain foods and cutting screen time are just a few examples.
🩺 SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week 💊
There’s another activity brain experts rave about, though. It’s fun and simple—although you can ramp it up if that's your thing.
The Simple Activity That Benefits Your Brain, According to Doctors
The brain-happy activity is moving your body, otherwise known as exercise.
Related: Need More Motivation to Exercise? Here Are 6 Mental Benefits
“Engaging in physical activity can help train your brain’s problem-solving, coordination and memory areas,” says Dr. Milica McDowell, DPT, the vice president of education at US Physical Therapy and an exercise physiologist. “Learning centers can be strengthened, too, especially if you are learning a new exercise with complex patterns, like golf or pickleball.”
Ahead, she and other doctors share how this happens and other key details.
Exercise promotes quality sleep
A good night’s sleep (aka, at least seven hours) restores the brain, allows memories to consolidate, enhances creativity, gives the brain time to develop and regulates emotions.
In other words, sleep is an essential part of cognitive health—and it can come easier after a workout.
“Exercise can help you sleep better, as long as you avoid high-intensity exercise close to bedtime,” says Dr. Mike McGrath, MD, a psychiatrist who is triple board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and the chief clinical officer of The Oasis California Luxury Rehab.
It fosters brain growth
Dr. Rabih Kashouty, MD, medical director at Premier Neurology, speaks to the physiology behind exercise and how it impacts the brain. “Exercise reduces insulin resistance and inflammation and stimulates the release of neuroprotective growth factors, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, which ultimately protects the neural cells in the brain,” he says.
Exercise also helps form new neurons, or “communication highways,” Dr. McDowell adds, and improves neuroplasticity, aka the brain’s ability to adapt.
Exercise releases hormones that improve mood
McGrath explains how exercise causes a release of endorphins, which boost mood and reduce stress. Dopamine and serotonin are also released, Dr. McDowell says, noting they’re what we have to thank for positive post-workout vibes.
How Much Exercise *Actually* Affects the Brain
So exercise is great for your brain…but to what extent? Doctors turn to the research to answer t his one. “Research has found that moderate intensity exercise has an ‘enormous’ effect on cognitive health,” Dr. McGrath says, pointing to a 2018 review in Frontiers in Psychology.
More specifically, the effects are slower cognitive decline and aided memory function—as mentioned above—according to a 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, says Dr. McDowell.
If you want to put an actual number on how exercise benefits brain health, Dr. McDowell also points to a 2011 meta-analysis in the Journal of Internal Medicine. It found that older adults who engage in moderate exercise have a 38 percent lower risk of cognitive decline. Not too shabby, right?
How Much Physical Activity Is Needed for Cognitive Benefits
While some movement will always be better than none, getting enough exercise is key to reaping the benefits.
You can check this box in various ways. According to Dr. Kashouty, “enough” exercise means 150 to 180 minutes of moderate exercise a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, plus moderate-intensity muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week.
Those numbers represent how much exercise is needed to raise your heart rate, Dr. McDowell explains, which is also “an appropriate way to think of how much is needed to boost brain health, too.”
Related: Is 3 Hours a Week Enough Exercise? Here’s What Trainers Say
If you’d rather keep it simple—or break that down day-by-day—Dr. McGrath recommends 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a day, five days a week.
If your weekdays are too busy for a half-hour workout, don’t fret: You can still reap the benefits of exercise by being a “weekend warrior,” aka someone who gets all that exercise in on Saturday and Sunday.
Best Types of Exercise for Brain Health
Many forms of exercise can be helpful, but we can’t ignore the nuances.“A combination of aerobic exercise and strength or resistance training is best,” says Dr. McGrath. “However, the best exercises are the ones that you’ll do consistently.”
Brisk walking, running, dancing, swimming, cycling, weightlifting, yoga and tai chi are all examples of exercises that improve cognitive function in adults, according to Dr. Kashouty.
For extra brain benefits from a workout, opt for a type of movement that requires thinking. Yep, that’s a thing!
“Exercises that require focus and concentration (more complicated patterns, or new patterns to learn) can improve this area of brain health,” Dr. McDowell says. “Try something novel on for size, like ping pong, horseback riding or skiing, and you’ll improve your brain’s health and your cognitive function, too.”
Related: This Is the Absolute Best Workout for Brain Fog, According to a Physiatrist and Neuropsychologist
'Easier' Types of Exercise That Help the Brain
As mentioned, consistency is key. For some folks, jogging five days a week just isn’t doable for a handful of reasons. That’s okay (and relatable). Plenty of other options exist.
Walking is an excellent choice, according to Dr. McGrath, that’s often more accessible. He encourages walking outdoors for an extra cognitive boost. Other “easier” and still great options he mentions include swimming, yoga and gentle stretching.
“Aerobic and resistance type of exercises should be kept to a level of challenge and difficulty that is reasonable to the patient,” Dr. Kashouty adds.
If walking is too much, or you want to start with an exercise that’s even more gentle on your joints, Dr. McDowell suggests a seated chair exercise, aka moving your body while sitting. That type of movement allows for other brain-happy activities, she says, like singing along to songs, talking about your favorite topics or playing a trivia game.
“Exercises that seem physically easy can become brain-boosting just by including memory, patterns, music or brain-game challenges, like reciting state capitals or matching airports to their flight codes,” she says. “Be creative!”
Up Next:
Related: 14 Actionable Ways to Lower Your Alzheimer's and Dementia Risk, According to Neurologists
Sources
Dr. Milica McDowell, DPT, an exercise physiologist
Dr. Mike McGrath, a psychiatrist whose triple board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Dr. Rabih Kashouty, MD, a board-certified physician who practices general neurology with fellowship-trained specialization in clinical neurophysiology
Why at Least 7 Hours of Sleep Is Essential for Brain Health, University of Utah School of Medicine
Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits, Frontiers in Psychology
Comparative efficacy of various exercise interventions on cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis, Journal of Sport and Health Science
Physical activity and risk of cognitive decline: a meta-analysis of prospective studies, Journal of Internal Medicine
