Does exercise make you smarter?
- October 3, 2013
- Tim Hutton
Have you ever felt more alert for the day having gone for a morning jog? If so, it will come as no surprise to you that research has suggested we think and learn better when we walk, jog or workout.
According to Justin Rhodes, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, there is a growing amount of evidence that suggests we think better after taking part in exercise. It is believed that this is down to blood flow.
When we exercise, blood pressure and blood flow increase everywhere in the body, including the brain. More blood means more energy and oxygen, which makes our brain perform better.
Justin Rhodes, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois
This means that anything from an afternoon stroll to a full-blown workout at the gym can have you feeling smarter and thinking better.
Another reason why working your body makes your brain work better is down to the hippocampus. This is a part of the brain that is critical for learning and memory, and during exercise it is highly active, and this is believed to improve our cognitive function.
There have been a number of studies in recent years into the effects of exercise on the brain, with one study claiming that aerobic exercise can actually reverse hippocampal shrinkage, boosting memory in older adults, while another study claims that students who exercise perform better on tests than those who are less athletic.
All of these studies seem to point to the same thing: that exercise DOES make you smarter. So next time your head needs clearing, go for a walk or jog, and you could be surprised by the results.