There’s no shortage of articles in the news touting that exercise is good for your health and can make you smarter, more successful personally and professionally.
Exercise neuroscience research focuses on the interplay between exercise and brain fitness. Research has shown that exercise improves memory and executive function—the set of higher-order mental skills that let us effectively plan and organize, make more accurate decisions, yield greater productivity and inspire innovation. Bottom line? Your personal success, your business success and, more specifically, your financial success can benefit greatly from this healthy lifestyle choice.
Fit body, fit brain
One of the earliest studies to demonstrate the fit body-fit brain link was conducted at Purdue University on 30 women. The researchers concluded that a 17 percent increase in their fitness levels correlated with 12 to 68 percent increase in cognitive function when tested for their ability to process information and make sound decisions. In effect, exercise made them better thinkers.
At the University of Illinois, Charles Hillman, Ph.D., measured response of brain waves associated with memory, focus and processing to exercise. He showed that a person’s ability to process information improved significantly immediately after a bout of moderate exercise on a treadmill. The conclusion was that aerobic exercise improved concentration and recall speed.
A follow-up study of workers in a work setting showed that on days a group of 210 workers performed a bout of exercise, their self-reported observations on the rate of ability to stay on task without a break and complete their “to-do lists” improved their time efficiency by 15 percent.
This may help explain why people who exercise consistently, thereby increasing their efficiency, can create more free time to fit exercise into their busy schedule.
A study, by Liu et al, measured the risk of dementia and related mortality over an average of 17 years in 59,899 patients ages 20 to 88. The data was mined from the Cooper Clinic database in Dallas, Tex. The researchers found that patients who were highly fit had a risk of dementia and associated death less than half that of the low fit group. In other words there was a 19.6 percent reduction in risk for each minute a patient exercised on the treadmill.
In search of the Holy Gail—BDNF
Initially, it was postulated that increased blood flow and oxygen to the brain during exercise was responsible for the observed brain health benefits. If you don’t get your blood pumping often enough, bringing oxygen, fuel and fertilizer carried by the bloodstream, your brain cells will shrivel and die.
This mechanism still stands, but the effect that exercise has on brain health is more complex than increasing blood flow. Rather, it relies on a symphony of exercise-dependent physiological and hormone responses to achieve these powerful results.
John Ratey, M.D., an exercise neuroscientist, coined the phrase “miracle-gro for your brain.” At the time, he was referring to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that’s elevated during exercise. Early on, researchers found if they sprinkled BDNF onto neurons in a petri dish, nerve cells sprouted new branches, producing the same structural growth seen when the brain puts something into memory.
Dr. Ratey was referring to research published in the journal Nature Medicine, which overturned the long-held tenet that the human brain lacked the ability to regenerate new nerve cells. What the researchers discovered was that, within the human brain, there exists a specialized neural stem cell capable of generating new brain neurons. Neural stem cells, when stimulated by BDNF, proliferate into new neurons.
A 2007 German study demonstrated that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before the exercise, and this was directly correlated with levels of BDNF.
Instant gratification
It’s clear that consistent exercise has a significant impact on brain health and fitness by stimulating the production of BDNF, but the return on your investment is measured in months and even years. It will maximize brain size and minimize memory loss, cognition and executive function into old age.
But, if you’re not convinced and need an immediate return on your trip to the gym at 5 a.m., there’s good news. A 30-minute workout on the treadmill is an excellent long-term investment, but the immediate return is like a short-term trade that pays off big.
Studies have shown the neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine) released into the bloodstream within minutes of exercising restore a healthy balance to the brain by stabilizing mood, focusing thought and attention, improving motivation and alleviating anxiousness and stress.
Christina Cowger, M.A., M.F.T., a marriage and family therapist in Marin, works collaboratively with physicians to support clients with neurotransmitter imbalances brought on by unhealthy lifestyle choices. “Constant emotional and physical stressors can wire the brain and body to be in a constant state of the fight-or-flight response,” she says. “I’ve seen this patterning dramatically impact people both interpersonally and professionally. It can, over time, limit one’s ability to negotiate and manage conflict.”
One of the key interventions in her mind-body approach to balancing the nervous system is to support her clients in creating an appropriate self-care routine that often includes physical exercise.
Every time you hit the gym to lift weights or run on the treadmill, you’re making BDNF, turning on the growth of new brain neurons, balancing neurotransmitters that maximize focus, attention and the ability to make effective business decisions. The results can be a larger, smarter, healthier brain and a more successful personal and professional life.
Tips for Brain Fitness Success
Start out slow. It’s important to do something rather than nothing. The biggest reason people quit is starting out at too high an intensity, which makes them feel bad both physically and emotionally.
Give dopamine a chance. Exercise immediately increases levels of dopamine and, if you stick with it, your brain cells in your motivation center will grow new dopamine receptors, giving you that stick-to-it attitude.
Plan. Always put your workouts on the calendar.
The most important business meeting of the day. Most people report doing their best thinking and problem solving during exercise.
Dr. Joseph Cleaver, M.D., is a researcher, author, national public speaker and a practicing board certified internist with 15 years of experience in the specialty of preventive executive health. He’s co-founder of the Napa Healthy Aging Institute located in Marin and Napa and can be reached at drjoe@napahealthyaging.com.
