Running is good for our overall health - that's obvious.
But did you know that running was not only good for your body, but also for your brain?
Countless studies over the last few years have shown that regular physical activity, and especially an aerobic activity like running has several positive effects on our brain health, -growth, and -function.
There are actually many of these effects and some of them haven't quite been tested yet.
This is only a selection of benefits that running has on the brain, which had been conducted in studies from the recent years:
Brain Connectivity
A new study that has only been published this week showed that runner's brains had some similarities with musician's brains.
In a study that compared young adult runners to others of their age that didn't regularly go for a run, it was shown that the runners brains generally had a greater functional connectivity.
This means that they had more connections between different brain regions, among others in the frontal cortex, which is an important part of our brain that controls cognitive functions like decision-making and planning.
Prior to this study, it had been shown that complex tasks with fine motor skills like playing an instrument have an influence on the brain's structure and function.
And now, the researchers have discovered that running might have a similar effect!
Growth of new Braincells
Scientists used to believe that humans reach a certain point in adulthood when they don't generate any new braincells anymore. But this theory has now been proven wrong, we are constantly creating new brain cells even at an old age, and exercise can boost the creation even more!
When testing groups of mice, scientists put one group in a cage with several running wheels, while the other group had none.
After 6-8 weeks, the mice that had been active showed up to twice or three times as many newly grown brain cells.
Memory Consolidation
Interestingly, running can even help with the consolidation of memories.
In June 2016, researchers from New Zealand found out that exercising four hours after learning something can help memorize it better.
"Our results suggest that appropriately timed physical exercise can improve long-term memory and highlight the potential of exercise as an intervention in educational and clinical settings"
A test with mice had shown that active ones could develop twice as many brain cells in the same period of time compared to sedentary mice, which also means that they created many new synaptic contacts between Neurons, which in turns aids the memorization process.
Also, certain neurotransmitters that are being released while running can generally sharpen the memory.
Cleared Mind
You may have experienced it yourself: Running helps to clear the mind like almost nothing else, the thoughts just go blank as you concentrate fully on your body's movements.
But this can also be proven scientifically: studies have found that 30-40 minutes of an aerobic workout increased the blood flow to the frontal lobe of your brain, an area that controls many cognitive functions like mentioned above, which we all associate with clear thinking: focus, concentration, goal-setting, time management and planning.
Uplifted Mood
Many regular runners also report that they just feel satisfied and happy after a run.
So researchers at Harvard conducted a study where the participants had to watch an incredible sad clip from the movie "The Champ". One group of ubjects had been running for 30 minutes prior to that, and the other group was just stretching.
After watching the movie they did several tests, and it turned out that those who had been on a run recovered quicker from the sad emotional effect.
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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