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.
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