How Exercise Effects Your Brain

Better Than Yesterday’s video “How Exercise Effects Your Brain: Exercise and The Brain (animated)” discusses how the human brain experiences exercise versus sedentary behavior. Better Than Yesterday begins the video by dismissing myths about exercise. It is argued that exercise doesn’t necessarily “burn off” stress, but it instead enables the brain to perform at its best. The main point of exercise is to condition and build the brain. The brain’s main purpose, as brains are found in moving beings, is to perform complex motor movements. It is argued in the video that inactivity actually shrinks the brain and kills brain cells. Because of exercise’s profound effect on the brain, exercise positively effects depression, mood, and mental aging. In the video, exercise is compared to Prozac and Ritalin, without side effects.

I learned of a metaphor that was very interesting to me. Better Than Yesterday states that koalas used to have larger brains, but then adapted to live off a simpler diet, and thus needed less movement to survive. As a result of this, koalas evolved to have smaller brains. Brains can grow or shrink, much like any other muscle in the body. In order to aid in brain growth, it is recommended to bring heart rate levels up to 80% for 30 minutes per day.

Better Than Yesterday [betterthanyesterday]. (2018, May 23). How exercise benefits your brain – exercise and the brain (animated) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtube.com/watch?v=pc5uXQm7e6g