What Happens to Your Brain When You Exercise
We all know exercise can help with weight and strength. It also helps your brain work better.
When you exercise, your brain makes new brain cells. This slows as we age and can drop a lot with Alzheimer’s disease. Regular activity helps your brain make more new cells, especially in the part that handles memory and learning. Exercise gives your brain fresh cells to fight age-related decline.
Exercise helps in other ways, too. When your heart beats faster, your body uses more oxygen. Your blood pressure can go down. More blood reaches your brain and brings what it needs to work well. Exercise that makes you breathe fast helps different parts of the brain “talk” to each other, which improves thinking.
Muscles may take months to look different. Your brain can respond sooner. Some people notice brain changes and clearer thinking in as little as two weeks after starting an exercise plan.
How exercise helps your brain:
- Makes new brain cells to support memory and learning
- Brings more blood and oxygen to the brain
- May lower blood pressure
- Helps brain areas connect, which can improve thinking
Easy way to start today:
- Take a brisk, 15-minute walk.
- Choose an activity you enjoy, and keep doing it.
- Aim to move most days of the week.
You can do this. Every small action helps your brain.
References:
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- Zhao R. Exercise mimetics: a novel strategy to combat neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Neuroinflammation. 2024;21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-024-03031-9
- Cotman CW, Engesser-Cesar C. Exercise Enhances and Protects Brain Function. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. 2002;30(2):75-79. https://doi.org/10.1097/00003677-200204000-00006
- Pedersen BK. Physical activity and muscle–brain crosstalk. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2019;15(7):383-392. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0174-x
- Cabral DF, Rice J, Morris TP, Rundek T, Pascual-Leone A, Gomes-Osman J. Exercise for Brain Health: An Investigation into the Underlying Mechanisms Guided by Dose. Neurotherapeutics. 2019;16(3):580-599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-019-00749-w
- Lock S. Global Council on Brain Health: Advancing International Dialogue to Promote Well-Being. Innovation in Aging. 2017;1(suppl_1):40-40. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igx004.158