What Is the Best Exercise For a Sharp Brain?

A new study has used rodents to determine which exercises work best for the brain.

(Photo: iStockphoto)

In your 20s, your reasons for working out might be because it’s fun and makes you look awesome. But here’s another solid reason to hit the gym or go for a run - exercising in your 20s for a sharper brain in your 40s.

Exercise changes the structure and function of the brain but we rarely focus on habits that can improve our brain health.

Your brain tends to shrink with age but clinical trials have proved that physical activity can increase the brain volume, reduce the number and size of age-related holes in the brain’s white and grey matter.

Scientists in Finland conducted a brain study to find out the ways exercise can affect brain health and the research suggests some ways are better for your grey matter than others.

The Research

New research has taken lab rodents and exposed them to aerobic, high interval intensity training and weight training (Photo: iStock)

In a rather cute experiment, scientists in the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland injected a large group of rats with a chemical that tracks the growth of new brain cells and then subjected them to different workouts. However, one sect remained sedentary to serve as a control group.

So some of the animals were given running wheels in cages - they mostly jogged at will, on an average several miles a day. Another group was subject to resistance training - small weights were attached to the tails of rodents and they were made to climb walls.

After nearly two months of the workout ritual, scientists microscopically examined the brains of the rodents and found very different levels of brain cells growth.

The rats that jogged on wheels showed strong, healthy and brawny brain cells in comparison to the sedentary group.

The greater the distance that a runner had covered during the experiment, the more robust the brain was in areas which control function, focus and learning. Surprisingly, resistance training, which is great for fat loss and muscle definition had little or no effect on brain cells. The hippocampal tissue of these rats looked just like that of animals who had not exercised at all.

Scientists found that distance running also increased the volume of the mid brain, the section that controls vision and hearing. Also, higher the mileage, more robust the cells.

The study has been published in this month’s edition of the Journal of Physiology.

Running Boosts Brain Power

Your favourite sport is good for more than just your physique (Photo: iStock)

In addition to stimulating the creation of new nerve cells and blood vessels in the brain, running also reverses age-related shrinkage by affecting chemicals in a way that sets runners for healthier-than-average brains later in life.

Another 2012 study found that even the moderately fit people did better on memory tests than those who were less fit or completely unfit. It also concluded that running makes people juggle better and enhances their ability to make distinctions.

So whatever shape you’re in, your elevated heart rate and blood pressure will continue to pump oxygen to the brain and body even after you’ve stopped running, which leaves you feeling sharp and energized. High dopamine levels will remain elevated for a long time, leaving you with a sense of pleasure.

(Photo: iStock)

So if you understand this science - you will understand that cardio gives you an edge in life. Pick up the jogging shoes when you’re in your 20s for a sharper brain in your 40s.

Think of it as building sweat equity in yourself. It is truly a no-brainer.