Smart exercises to boost your brain power

 New research shows that some simple but clever moves can increase gray matter in the brain, improve your mood and slow age-related decline.

Muscle gains, fat loss, and increased fitness are among the reasons many of us try to stick to a particular exercise routine, but several new studies support how important physical activity is for our brain health, too.

Researchers have recently added more weight to evidence showing that choosing the right type of exercise can help reduce depression and even create a larger brain for age.

A team from the University of Limerick and Iowa State University examined whether resistance exercises such as weightlifting and bodyweight exercises could help treat moderate anxiety and anxiety.

Senior lecturer at the school of psychology and lead author Dr. Instead of taking the blanket approach of telling people that any exercise is good for their mood, Michael Noetel says he wants to get into the specifics of what might be beneficial.

Dr. “We found that many types of exercise are as good as gold standard psychological treatments for treating depression,” Noetel said, “but strength training, walking, running, yoga, t'ai chi and mixed aerobic exercise in particular have shown benefits as strong as prescription treatments such as talk therapies and some antidepressant medications.” ."

"We also found that people mostly stuck with strength training and yoga. Joining a gym, fitness group, or yoga studio, or even dragging a friend or family member along, were all significant factors in adherence." said.

Here are exercises that will benefit your brain, according to experts…

AIM FOR 4 THOUSAND STEPS A DAY
Even if you fall behind the popular 10,000 daily steps goal, you can still benefit from walking. “We found that even moderate physical activity, such as walking 4,000 steps a day, can have a positive impact on brain health,” neuroscientist David Merrell, director of geriatric psychiatry at PBHC and one of the study's authors, writes in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

LIFT WEIGHTS TWICE A WEEK
It's never too late to start resistance training. Three months of weight training twice a week was sufficient to produce neurochemical changes and improvements in brain health in a group of adults aged 60-80. In this study, published last year in the journal GeroScience, the training consisted of four lower body exercises performed in 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions, 70-85 percent of the maximum load they could handle.

GO FOR A 10-MINUTE RUN
According to scientists at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, running at a moderate intensity for just 10 minutes improves mood and management processes in the brain. Brain scans performed after a short run showed that this activity increased blood flow to the brain's prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in executive functions and mood control. Other researchers have suggested that the rhythmic motion of running helps regulate serotonin receptors in the prefrontal cortex, enhancing mood and cognitive control.

DANCE IN THE KITCHEN
Dr. In his review, Noetal mentioned some studies on the effect of dance on depression. "Put on some music and dance around the kitchen. Dance studies have shown the strongest effects of those we've looked at. So, although we can't be so sure about the depression-relieving effects of dance due to a lack of research, it seems like a great option for those who want to try it," he said. says.