Exercise Makes You Smarter

Exercise not only makes you healthier and

happier, it also makes you smarter, says

new research. An up-and-coming field of

neuroscientific research has linked

smartness to your regular routine of cardio.

The neuroscience researchers have found

that there is more to exercise that just

improving your blood circulation. It helps in

expression of a particular gene that floods your brain with brain derived

neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Mental sharpness, ability to learn and memorise

are aided by the BDNF protein.

The study was carried out in DartmouthCollege in USA by lead researcher

Michael Hopkins and his team. The team divided the participants in four groups

before giving them a memory test and conducting a mental health survey. One

of the groups exercised daily, another exercised daily but not on the day of test

and survey, third group whose participants exercised only on the day of their

test and survey, and the last group who remained sedentary.

The conclusion of the research by Hopkins and his team was that only the

group that exercised throughout, including on the day of the test and survey,

experienced a boost in BDNF. The researchers clarified that only moderate

exercises such as walking were performed by the participants, and there was

no vigorous workout schedule that they went through. They said that for

deriving mental health benefits out of exercise, it is important that you do not

exert your full might when working out. You just need to move all of your body

for more than half the days in a week.

The positive effect of exercise on mental health was also confirmed by a

research in Canada. Moderate strength training in women aged 70 odd for six

months slowed down the aggravation of dementia. And in young men and

women, the result of exercise was that they became sharper, mentally faster

and smarter. This corroborates the findings of the DartmouthCollege Research