Walking, Running, and Your Brain
Aerobic Exercise Improves Mental as Well as Physical Abilities
A growing body of research in the past decade shows that walking, running, and other aerobic exercise helps the brain much more than previously thought.
Most people, myself included, who walk, run, bicycle, swim, or do other aerobic exercise started because of the benefits to our physical health. These benefits are pretty well documented and include such things as weight loss and cardiovascular fitness.
A few days ago I read a newspaper article about the effects of these exercises on our brains. I hadn't realized how important exercise is for our brains. This research is newer and less well known, but forget the dumb jock image. Apparently aerobic exercise makes us smarter.
Studies show that older previously sedentary adults who start walking a three days a week can improve their brains by slowing the decline in brain function that normally occurs with aging. Other studies also show that achool children who get regular exercise do better in school. Let's not cut PE in an attempt to improve kids' academic performance.
Up to about a decade ago most neuroscientists thought that the brain did not grow once it was fully developed. Newer research now shows that aerobic exercise can stimulate brain growth. It doesn't take much. Just start walking.
The ancient Roman poet, Juvenal, said "mens sana in corpore sano" (healthy mind in a healthy body) nearly two thousand years ago. Modern science has finally proven him right.
