Exercise for the benefit of brain
For centuries, people have known that exercise remodels muscles, rendering them more durable and fatigue-resistant. But very little thing was known whether it helps to keep brain fit or not. To learn more about how exercise affects the brain, scientists in Ireland recently asked a group of sedentary male college students to take part in a memory test followed by strenuous exercise. The study revealed that the exercised volunteers performed significantly better on the memory test. The researchers said that immediately after the strenuous activity, the people who were involved in exercise had significantly higher levels of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which is known to promote the health of nerve cells. Several studies have found similar result. Experts opined that for everyone, the evidence is very strong that physical activity will increase BDNF levels and improve cognitive health. Exercise not only helps improve memory but also keep brain fit. In muscle, exercise increases the number of mitochondria, the tiny organelles that float around a cell's nucleus and act as biological powerhouses, helping to create the energy that fuels almost all cellular activity. Brain cells are also fueled by mitochondria like muscles. South Carolina scientists exercised their mice for eight weeks and it showed that the running mice displayed much greater endurance than the loungers. Some parts of their brains showed more activity than others, but in each of the samples, the brain cells held newborn mitochondria. Epidemiological studies show that long-term runners have a lower risk of neurological disease. Best of all, the effort required to round your brain cells into shape is not daunting. A 30-minute jog, according to expert, is probably a good human equivalent of the workout that the mice completed.
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