Exercise improves cognitive functioning
We already know about the many physical benefits of exercise: it helps keep you fit and healthy, it prevents chronic diseases, it boosts energy, it promotes sleep, and it elevates your sex drive. For anyone who values health and strives for longevity, these reasons are more than enough to make exercise a necessity.
But now, as if we needed another reason to exercise, we're learning that fitness also has mental benefits. As several recent studies have shown, in addition to helping with mood and alertness, exercise makes you sharper. It improves your cognitive functioning, giving you a better short- and long-term memory, improved problem-solving skills, and a greater ability to focus on tasks with sustained attention.
Exercise and mental function in children and younger adults
An emerging body of scientific research supports the hypothesis that regular exercise leads to an improved brain in people of all ages.
According to one meta-analysis conducted at the University of Georgia, it's clear that "gains in children's mental functioning due to exercise training are seen most clearly on tasks that involve executive functions"-that is, activities that require the individual to think and solve problems amidst complex, goal-oriented and novel situations.
That's why, contrary to the popular image of the "dumb jock," sports like football, baseball, softball, and soccer can actually make kids smarter, in addition to providing physical activity.
The same patterns can be seen in adults. Without going into detail about all the relevant studies, it's been found that college students learn better after intense exercise and that adults get similar benefits from regular participation in activities like aerobics.
The science behind these findings is complicated, but it's thought that many of the mental benefits of exercise are centered on the hippocampus, a strictly mammalian part of the brain that plays a large role in learning and memory. There are several theories, but one that many experts converge upon says that the physical effects of exercise increase neurogenesis (nerve cell regeneration) in the hippocampus, leading to improved mental functioning.
Exercise and cognitive functioning in the elderly
In a study conducted at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that women between the ages of 65 and 75 who participate in regular resistance training or balance and tone training perform better in cognitive tests by as much as 10 to 12%.
Meanwhile, a German study that focused on elderly people of both sexes found that "moderate or high physical activity is associated with a reduced incidence of cognitive impairment after 2 years." This cognitive impairment includes many types of dementia associated with illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease.
In light of what we know about the physical effects of exercise, all of these facts make sense. Exercise improves energy and metabolism and gets more blood and oxygen flowing to the brain, and while most elderly people inevitably suffer cognitive decline in the long run, it makes sense that regular physical activity would slow the decline.
How much exercise is needed?
If you want to experience the cognitive benefits of exercise, you have to be dedicated to a regular exercise regime. According to Health Canada's recommendations, everyone should "integrate physical activity into their everyday life; at home, at school, at work, at play and on the way."
The U.S. Department of Health agrees-and when they say every day, they mean it. To achieve moderate benefits, you need at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, which amounts to about 20 minutes per day. However, if you want to experience maximum benefits, 60 minutes a day is ideal.
In these busy times, 60 minutes of daily exercise may seem unheard of, but once you get into the habit of exercising-and if you treat it as an appointment that can't be avoided-you'll experience great improvements in your body and mind, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Image courtesy of Rance Costa via Flickr