A recent review published in the academic journal Brain Plasticity explains that even a single bout of exercise can have long lasting beneficial effects on our brain’s.
Here are just a few examples:
Increases in brain energy
Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain, delivering nutrients and resources causing all round better brain functioning. This is one of the reasons why very short bursts of exercise throughout the day are just as effective as a cup of coffee for promoting wakefulness.
Lactate production
We’ve all felt this before, that burning fatigue in the legs during intense exercise. But could this lactic acid that we feel actually be in turn powering our brain?
Lactate is a by product of aerobic glycolysis- this is the energy system being used during short bursts of intense exercise ranging from 10 seconds to 2 minutes.
For a long time it was thought that lactate was just a waste product that caused more harm than good- simply contributing to sore achy muscles. However, there has been some interesting findings with lactate in recent years; lactate crosses the blood brain barrier (and enters the brain) and can be used as an energy source, it has been implicated in memory processes and neural plasticity (formation of new brain cells).
It also serves as precursor to glutamate- this is the neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for formation of memories among other things.
Reduced stress levels
The amount of stress we feel is regulated by our HPA axis; this is the connection between the hypothalamus of the brain and the pituitary and adrenal glands. The adrenals release stress hormones like cortisol which then kick us into that fight or flight response. This is a completely natural and necessary process, but becomes extremely detrimental to our health when it is constantly over activated (when we are always stressed).
Exercise also activates the HPA axis and cortisol release, but in a good way; doing so through exercise can help us to better deal with the real life stressors that need not be stressful.
Growth Factors
Growth factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulate growth of new neurons and enhance synaptic plasticity (connections between neurons) and LTP (memory formation), placing them at the forefront of disease prevention. In humans, a single bout of exercise has shown able to stimulate peripheral increases in these 3 neurotrophins, all of which can cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and enter the brain.
All it takes is 4 minutes
Short on time?
TABATA is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest and repeated 8 times. But this 20 seconds needs to be all out to get the benefits. If you find yourself saying “this isn’t so bad” then you aren’t going hard enough. This can be done with the modality of your choice, treadmill, bike, body weight exercises or whatever you wish. Remarkably, studies show that when done correctly this is able to raise VO2max as effectively as much longer steady state cardio sessions, for example going for a 1 hour run.
This will surely give you greater blood flow to the brain and a quick stress release. Personally, I still experience that post workout high following a session this short, that’s the natural endorphins that your body releases, and also a release of neurotransmitter norepinephrine which gives us that enhanced clarity and focus.
The ideal situation here would be to perform a tabata workout followed by an intermittent fast. Ie. don’t go slamming a bunch of carbs and protein after this, don’t have anything! This increases fat oxidation (burning of fat), boosts hormones like HGH (human growth hormone) and the ketone metabolite BHB (beta hydroxybutrate)- if you don’t know what this is you are missing out. Check it out here, and stay tuned for some additional info on it and ketosis in general.
There you have, now you have no excuse.
References
Brain Plasticity article- http://content.iospress.com/articles/brain-plasticity/bpl160040
TABATA example- http://www.active.com/fitness/articles/what-is-tabata-training
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