Workout Gains For Your Brain

One More Motivation To Workout

There are many good reasons that motivate people to workout. Some of the main reasons are to stay healthy, in shape, look better, and feel better about yourself. Other people workout to compete in different sports and even bodybuilding. But you never hear anybody say that they workout in order to develop and exercise their brain. Well, it is true. Working out has been proven to have a long list of benefits directly related to your brain. Some of these benefits include better decision making, critical thinking, memory, focus, mood and overall mental health. You don’t have to solely rely on “intellectual lifting” anymore and actually do some real lifting.

Putting Your Body And Brain To Work

When you workout you are putting stress on your body’s systems. At this point, your brain feels that is either fighting or fleeing from the enemy. The damage caused on your body by the workout itself signals the brain to repair it. This is done by the brain releasing a protein called  BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This protein repairs and protects your neurons but also acts as a reset switch. This is why you feel so at ease after a good workout. After the age of 25, we begin to lose neurons due to aging. Exercising does not only stop this but also builds new neural connections. If that wasn’t enough, endorphins are also released by your body to fight stress during the workout. Endorphins block the feeling of pain and trigger a positive feeling in your body. Some people even experience euphoria. So the next time you hear people say that exercising makes them feel so good don’t think they are lying. This should give you another good reason to start or continue to workout.