How Often Do You EXercises Your Brain? Do You Know Exhaustion Could Easily Change Your Thinking Style

You know working out can give you strong

muscles , greater endurance and a toned

physique. But did you know that even

moderate exercise can improve the way your

brain functions, too? And we’re not just

talking about results found in older people,

either.

Even though twentysomethings are thought to

have brains that are in their prime

developmentally, new research published in

Psychophysiology reveals that their cognitive

function can actually improve — with just 30

minutes of exercise . While previous studies

have established that physical activity is

essential for protecting memory and

cognitive processes in older folks, this new

study is the first to suggest that regular

exercise can also improve brain function in

young adults.

After noticing that the university students

around her appeared to be less fit these

days than in her early years as a professor,

study author Liana Machado, Ph.D.,

Department of Psychology Senior Lecturer at

the University of Otago in New Zealand,

decided to investigate whether their fitness

levels might negatively influence cognitive

abilities. Not anticipating she would see

much of an effect, her findings were

unexpected.

“Given that the development of the brain

peaks in young adulthood, it is quite

surprising that there would be room for

improvement in brain function in healthy

young adults,” says Machado.

Your Brain on Exercise

It turns out your sweat sessions are giving

you more than just a feel-good endorphin

boost — they’re giving you an oxygen high,

too. Researchers at the University of Otago

analyzed the self-reported activity levels of

52 young women (ages 18 to 30), the oxygen

availability in participants’ brains and their

performance on a series of reaction-time

tasks on a computer. Theses reaction-time

tasks were designed to test cognitive

inhibitory control, which is the ability to

exert self-control when faced with a

changing environment. This is cognitive

ability is crucial during daily activities like

driving a car or when resisting cravings ,

says Machado.

Based on the study results, you may want to

get active for a more oxygen-happy brain.

Among study participants, those who worked

out more often had more oxygen availability

in their brains — and hence, better cognitive

functioning. In fact, you’re doing your

brain a long-term favor by exercising.

Machado notes that effects observed in the

study weren’t temporary. In other words,

exercise could provide a lasting brain boost

unlike the quick mental edge you’d get from

downing a cup of coffee.

“Brain cells depend very heavily on oxygen,”

she says. Breathing air with a smaller

concentration of oxygen, such as at high

altitudes, is associated with worse cognitive

performance, and the inverse is also true:

Increased oxygen is associated with optimal

brain functioning.

Best of all: This research suggests you won’t

have to spend hours at the gym to

experience clearer thinking. “Moderate

physical activity, including brisk walking, at

least five days a week for at least 30

minutes may suffice to gain benefits with

respect to brain function,” says Machado.

Brisk walking counted as exercise in the

study, though Machado says achieving an

elevated heart rate is likely important. (So,

strolling leisurely around the block just to

hit your fitness tracker step goal doesn’t

countr.

EXHAUSTION MIGHT CHANGE YOUR THINKING STYLE

Between waking up early to squeeze in spin

class and catching up with friends over

late-night drinks, we’ve all experienced that

groggy feeling of logging too few hours of

sleep. It turns out that exhaustion (and

your corresponding mood) isn’t just making

you feel run down — it’s affecting the way

your brain works, too. New research from

Lumosity , an online brain training program

with more than 60 million registered users,

reveals that the hours you’ve slept, time of

day, and your mood all have an effect on

how mentally sharp you are throughout the

day.

Researcher Daniel Sternberg, PhD, senior

data scientist at Lumosity, analyzed how

60,000 people performed on Lumosity’s

various tests of processing speed, short term

and working memory, task switching, visual

attention, and arithmetic and verbal

fluency over the course of the year to find

out what really makes your brain alert — or

totally out of it.

Sleep Is King

Almost everyone’s brain

performs better on cognitive

tests in the morning hours.

The results may serve as motivation to turn

in early tonight: With few exceptions,

Lumosity users performed better on

cognitive tests when they reported enjoying

at least seven to eight hours of sleep the

night before. And that effect may be more

pronounced in real-life situations,

according to Sternberg. “As you train on the

same task many times, you get better and

better at doing it and your performance

doesn’t vary as much,” Sternberg says,

noting that each study participant had

played these games at least 100 times. “But

it may be that when you’re encountering a

novel situation, that’s probably where there

are bigger differences.”

Being in a bad mood doesn’t do you any

favors, either. When users logged in to play

a game, they were asked to rate their

happiness on a scale consisting of five

faces, ranging from smiling to frowning.

Users’ scores were always better when they

reported being in a “smiling” mood,

according to researchers. Your state of mind

may be an indicator of “life circumstances

that specifically affect our ability to

concentrate,” the study reports.

Score One for Night Owls?

Peak time for creativity

seems to occur later in the

day, possibly from 2 to 4

p.m.

Whether or not you identify as a morning or

night person also has an effect on how you

think, the research reveals. But here’s the

catch: Almost everyone’s brain performs

better on cognitive tests in the morning. The

only difference was that night owls

remained cognitively sharp later into the

evening than early birds. “People who

reported being evening people…they just

were less affected at night. They

maintained better performance as night

went on, as opposed to people who felt they

were sharper in the morning, who were

declining,” Sternberg says.

The researchers also discovered that peak

time for creativity seemed to occur later in

the day, possibly somewhere in the

afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. That’s because

creativity, which requires thinking outside

the box, may actually be easier to achieve if

you’re a little less in control of your brain,

Sternberg notes. “If you think you’re a

morning person, maybe plan more creative

activities in the afternoon.”

In the future, Sternberg says he hopes to

use Lumosity in conjunction with other

tracking devices to give people more precise

insights about what times of day they might

be able to think more creatively, or when

they might be best equipped to handle multi-

tasking, or stress. “We might be able to pull

in this type of data and say based on data

about other people, an extra hour of sleep

would be great for you and make a really big

difference.”

Plus, he thinks there’s a special place for

using Lumosity in conjunction with fitness

trackers to help people achieve peak fitness

— both mentally and physically. “There’s lots

of papers now showing that certain physical

activity is pretty good for cognitive health

and brain health ,” Sternberg says. By

tracking both workout habits and cognitive

performance, researchers might soon be able

to pinpoint exactly how your fitness affects

your brain — and vice versa.