There is such a category of people that prefer training their brain rather than body. They think: “why to exhaust your body with exercises surrounded by sweaty strangers when you can comfortably read a book in your bed? However, studies have shown that sport, regardless of how boring you find it, can help to improve your brain and thinking.
It has been already known that sport makes a great impact on the growth of new brain cells, especially the ones that are closely associated with memory and learning. However, now scientists have revealed that exercising also helps to improve the production of proteins that speed up the connections between neurons. This process is called the Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and helps in increasing brain capacity.
According to American College of Sports Medicine magazine, brain increases its mental activity when the heart rate becomes intensive. With a help of doctors, there has been done a memory test, which finally revealed that people, who did its tasks after a long run or weight lifting, performed significantly faster and more accurate than ones who had to be quiet and still. There are several theories known, including the one that claims that after having intensive workout accelerated blood flow reaches the brain. However, another theory says that aerobic exercise improves the energy metabolism and ensures a sufficient supply of glucose to the brain.
So, to keep our brain in a best condition, how often should we have to exercise? In short, according to Duke University study, 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes of aerobic exercises is the best for a healthy middle-aged human. Other types of sports, such as yoga, are known to help relieve stress, but now they have been revealed to have less impact to the brain.