17 Feb Exercise can even help make you smarter

Everyone should know by now that exercise has a multitude of benefits. But, did you know that working out regularly can even make you smarter?

According to numerous studies, hopping onto a treadmill or elliptical machine can help your brain work better.
Neuroscientists and physiologists have an ever-growing collection of scientific data that shows that regular exercise can help the brain resist shrinkage and enhance cognitive ability.

Incredibly, exercise does more to strengthen and support the brain than thinking does. Wrap your head around that for a minute.
In one study, researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois studied four groups of mice and put them into four distinct living arrangements. After putting the mice through different experiences, the ones that had more physical activity did better on cognitive tests and had healthier brain tissues.

“Only one thing had mattered,” a researcher reported, “and that’s whether they had a running wheel.”
Research has shown that exercise improves and even increases cells in the brain, fortifies the connections among neurons and sparks neurogenesis.

That’s just part of the benefit of exercise to the brain, which even the most advanced scientists can’t fully explain at this point.
Many researches think exercise is especially helpful for senior citizen’s brain function and some even believe it could help stave off Alzheimer’s disease to a degree.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com