Misplaced keys. The inability to find the right word. That midday dip in work productivity. All annoying, for sure - but that's not the only thing they have in common. As bizarre as it sounds, scheduling more gym time might be the solution to all three problems. Researchers now understand how the same spin class or boot camp that tones your butt can also build up the muscle between your ears. Regular exercise can turbocharge brainpower and improve mood, memory, and focus, while fighting depression and age-related cognitive decline. What's more, studies show that your mental outlook can affect how you react to pain during a workout, which can influence whether you dig in or throw in the towel. By understanding how the brain responds to each phase of your workout, you can make the most of this very cool mind-body connection.
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Wishful Thinking
You've got a decision to make: Press snooze. . .or pop out of bed and exercise? Hit the gym after work. . .or hit happy hour?
In these moments when you're staring down your sneakers, you're trying to rouse your left prefrontal cortex (PFC), the area of the brain where your elements of willpower reside. Regular exercisers have an advantage: Their brains can anticipate the positive perks of a sweat session. "When you have positive reinforcement, you're much more likely to do something," says John J. Ratey, M.D., an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
Power up: If this is where you typically derail, solicit external assistance - schedule a workout with a friend or register for a race - rather than relying on willpower alone, says Ratey. Still slacking? Use non-exercise activities and daily chores (like making your bed every morning) to get your PFC operating optimally. "You can build your willpower like you would a muscle," says mind-body health expert David Yaden of the Community Biofeedback Clinic in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. "Your willpower becomes stronger even when you're practicing doing little things."
Sharpen Your 5 Senses
The First Step
Within minutes of getting moving, your brain lights up like a neon sign, says brain chemistry researcher David Glass, Ph.D., a professor in the department of biological sciences at Kent State University. First comes a rush of serotonin and dopamine, the feel-good hormones that also improve memory and learning. "It sets off your reward circuitry," says Glass. "That's what makes exercise rewarding and possibly addictive."
Just like your hardworking muscles, the brain perks build with each rep or stride. As your heart rate rises, blood flow increases, and over time more capillaries develop in the brain. As your nerve cells fire, they boost the creation of proteins such as brain derived neurotrophic factor (or BDNF, which plays a role in the positive thoughts you attribute to working out) as well as compounds that promote new brain-cell formation. The result: You increase the production of neurons - literally building your brain over a period of weeks by creating new nerve cells, says Brian R. Christie, Ph.D., director of the neuroscience program at the University of Victoria in Canada.
Power up: Try something fresh - like Zumba or a new form of yoga - that forces both your brain and your body to work in unaccustomed ways, says Christie. "Cognitively complex tasks can have benefits for the brain, so it makes sense that combining physical and mental exercise provides the most benefits."
8 Ways to De-Stress
The High Point
As your muscles grow weary, the temptation to pull the plug grows stronger. But if you keep going - for a total of 20 minutes or more - your natural opioid system kicks into high gear, flooding your brain with painkilling chemicals like endorphins. (According to one study, these endorphins attach to the same brain regions that light up when you're sexually aroused.) Other researchers credit a chemical called cannabinoids for the high (yep, it's from the same family of chemicals that gives marijuana smokers their buzz). It could be that the body releases these substances to cope with the stress of exercise, says lead researcher Arne Dietrich, Ph.D., of the American University of Beirut. "If you give your body time to release these chemicals, you may feel much better during and after exercise," he says. And not just physically: A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that exercisers scored significant mental-health perks after just 20 minutes.
