“Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” -Jim Rohn
There are powerful effects of physical exercise. Exercise gives an immediate, long lasting and protective benefits to the brain. If you have undesirable brain condition retrieved from depression, Alzheimer’s or dementia, would you prefer to opt for the exercise? If at all you do not have these kind of ailments, I am sure you will not refuse to have some exercise as you have benefits for the brain for your immediate mood or long lasting focus.
Key Areas Of Brain
The prefrontal cortex, right behind your forehead is believed to be critical for things like decision making, focus, attention and traits. Your right or wrong decision plays a major part in your life on a day to day basis. A single wrong decision may ruin your life or a right decision may make you reach to the top.
The second key area of the brain is located in the temporal lobe. We have two temporal lobes in the brain, the right and the left. Inner and deeper parts of the temporal lobe is a key structure critical for your brain ability to form and retain new long term memories for facts and events. This structure is called hippocampus. The deep memory retention is everlasting. I can not forget an incident in my life when I was in conversion training of Indian Air Force and sent on leave for a couple of weeks from authority. To my surprise a helicopter landed in my village due to snag in engine. Somebody informed me and I rushed to the site and met the pilots. Since I was engine fitter and had specialisation in helicopter I could help them to fly back to nearest air base. But I can never forget the incident till the last day of my life as whole village gathered to witness the historical event.
Long Term Memory Formation
With advancement of sophisticated equipment and measuring devices, we can observe the new memories formations. The bursts of electrical activities when neurons communicate with each other are recorded and we are able to better predict the activities for subject recording in the brain.
I had my masters in psychology and had keen interest to know various activities of the brain as I wanted to observe the behaviour of the friends and relatives. I spent lot of time in studies and people used to comment that I am simply wasting time as lot of time of my social activities was taken away for the research and development.
I preserved my notes and records at least for a decade till I made them digitised. I had adopted exercise running, yoga etc. right from adult period. I was also involved in folk dance and therefore I had lot of sweating during the days. But induced workouts always gave me mood boost and incredible energy. I could maintain the weight and waist. Even sand running, slope running and weight exercise in gym kept my muscles in tune.
Even during the recent days I continued exercise like jogging, cycling, yoga, meditation and observed the physical fitness norms till date so that it can establish my authority for the experience I share to the people. I can give better explanation and real time happenings as I have been undergoing through these stages. I noticed significant changes in my brain due to subject exercise schedules. I had Better mood, better energy, better memory and better attention. I can say that that exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today for the following reasons.
Levels Of Neurotransmitters
Any specific work out you undergo will have immediately increase levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline. That is going to increase your mood right after that workout. I did not know earlier during my workouts during my athletic off seasons sessions that in spite of pains in ankles I used to get delighted mood and happy feeling. Later on I came to know that those short of happenings were responsible due to neurotransmitter secretions.
My psychometric measures made me to understand that subject workout could improve my ability to shift and focus attention and that focus improvement almost lasted for at least two hours. And finally, studies also showed that a single workout improved my reaction times.
Brand New Cells
It is known fact that increased cardiorespiratory function has the long-lasting effects. And these effects are long-lasting because exercise actually changes the brain’s anatomy, physiology and function. In fact exercise actually produces brand new brain cells, new brain cells in the hippocampus, that actually increase its volume, as well as improve our long-term memory.
The most common finding in neuroscience studies, looking at effects of long-term exercise, is improved attention function dependent on your prefrontal cortex. You do not only get better focus and attention but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well. And finally, you do not only get immediate effects of mood with exercise but those last for a long time. So how much beneficial it is that you get long-lasting increases in those good mood neurotransmitters.
The brain is just like a muscle. The more you’re working out, the bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets. The prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are the two areas that are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitive decline in aging. So with increased exercise over your lifetime, you’re not going to cure dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, but what you’re going to do is you’re going to create the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex so it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect. You can think of exercise.
There is a good news that you do not have to be steeple chaser or hurdler athlete with strenuous workouts. Just 40 minutes exercise schedule thrice a week is more than sufficient with lighter aerobic exercise for better heart bit rates.
Your life can be better by bringing little exercise along with your daily routine. It will not only give you a happier, more protective life today but it will protect your brain from incurable diseases.
Take Away
1. Find your limits and uncover your potential.
2. Challenge yourself daily, it will definitely change your trajectory of life.
