Scientific Connection between Movement and Brain Function

Recently, researchers at Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical schools discovered a hormone that’s released in your body when exercising.  Irisin is the name of the hormone, and it works to protect the brain from degeneration and improve cognition at the same time.

It’s always been known that physical exercise is beneficial for brain function, but researchers haven’t been able to understand exactly why this connection occurs until now.  This research study shows that exercise initiates irisin which starts a chain reaction in the body that directly impacts the brain.

Mental Benefits of Exercise

Regular, consistent exercise can impact your brain function in several ways.  It’s been found that exercise stimulates neurogenesis, which means that the brain is able to grow new neurons more effectively.  If you want to improve neuropathways, then make sure that you’re exercising on a regular basis.

This also helpful for mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and chronic stress.  Scientists have linked these conditions with loss of neurons, which means an improvement in neurogenesis can provide possible solutions for these disorders.

Exercise at Different Stages of Life

Several research studies have found connections between exercise early in life and how it impacts health later in life.  For instance people that are more active and fit during their young adult years have a higher likelihood of having an improved brain function later in life.

Similarly, studies have found that being physical active during the mid-life years can improve brain function in the elderly.  Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland discovered that being active during mid-life period can help protect a person from dementia as they get older.

Moderation is Key

Even though studies have found that exercise helps improve brain function, it’s important to understand that “more is not better” in this case… there are limits to these benefits.  In fact, they found that too much exercise can actually backfire.  Keep in mind that too much of anything… no matter how beneficial it may be… is usually a bad idea and it’s no different here.

Starting the Chain Reaction to Better Brain Function

Not surprisingly the drug manufacturers are currently researching ways to make a drug that simulates the effect that this hormone has on your body during exercise.  Seems silly considering the easiest and most effective way to boost this hormone naturally is to simply move your body on a consistent basis!  Even though more research needs to be done in order to fully understand the link between exercise and brain function, you won’t go wrong by including more exercise into your daily routine.