Today I trained hard for two hours.
Why?
Because it fills me with pure, sparkling energy and tone.
And besides that, it literally "blows away" – let's say it more elegantly – it wonderfully "ventilates" any stress and anxious thoughts.
But apart from toning and speeding up the metabolism, physical activity develops the brain. This is the focus of our article today.
It is known that physical exercise has numerous neuroprotective and cognitive benefits, especially those related to memory and learning. Physical activity acts as a trigger, a catalyst, a mediator – whatever you want to call it – for hippocampal neurogenesis. This is an extremely interesting process in which new neurons are generated in the hippocampus.
Here is another good reason to exercise!
Our hippocampus – an important part of the brain that is shaped like a seahorse and is a key link in the process of learning and forming new memory.
By the way – aromatherapy improves focus and stimulates the learning of new things. Essential oils with the scent of lavender, rose, peppermint, lemon, frankincense, orange, and cedarwood are great friends of the “seahorse” within us.
Our brains make a connection between the scent and information, and people learn much better when inhaling these aromas.
Recent studies on the hippocampus analyze a specific region of it called the ventral hippocampus. More and more data suggest that the hippocampus plays an important role in both behavioral inhibition and the development of anxiety.
But if the connection between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex is still a subject of hypotheses, there is a broad scientific consensus that the hippocampus is the brain structure that allows for the formation of new memories from lived experiences – episodic, autobiographical, procedural, semantic. The hippocampus is an area responsible for the process of learning and storing information; it participates in the formation, organization, and storage of memory traces, as well as the correlation of some of our sensations and emotions to these traces and memories. Atrophy of the hippocampus is associated with an accelerated deterioration of cognitive abilities.
Magnetic resonance scans of the human brain establish that the hippocampus shrinks by about 13 percent between the ages of 30 and 80. As a result, the quality and volume of our memory register weaken, and processes such as encoding, storage, retrieval, and reproduction of information begin to suffer. On the other hand, the degeneration of cells in the hippocampus leads to the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
The good news?
In addition to the fact that there is now Focus 7, rich in unique ingredients that support our brain function and mental alertness, physical activity
is proven to induce and regulate neurogenesis.
Our brain and human memory in general is not some fixed video tape, static and unchangeable, not at all. It is something dynamic, alive, organic, and changeable. And besides the reactivation of old memories, one can change the structure of certain areas in the brain thanks to a unique process called neuroplasticity – this is our brain's ability to change as we learn new things!
And to learn new things, we need focused attention!
Sport is definitely a great friend and accomplice in this process.
The key molecule mediating such progress has also been identified – it is the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor – BDNF.
BDNF regulates many of the processes in neurogenesis.
Let's look at elite athletes.
They are highly motivated individuals with physical and psychological characteristics that make them uniquely fit to compete in a given sport. Understanding the impact that sports have (both positive and negative) on the brain is the subject of constant and active research needs. We are attaching a link to a wonderful article in Scientific Data.
To date, this is the first publicly accessible and openly shared dataset for college-level athletes.
Physical activity – when it is reasonable, not extreme!!! – brings a whole bunch of cumulative benefits – it improves the ability to allocate attention, improves inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, significantly sharpens cognitive abilities, boosts mood, and reduces the risk of neurodegenerative diseases by promoting neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity.
So, physical activity is by no means just a weight-loss tool.
Physical activity has neuroprotective effects and is related to neurogenesis.
And being physically active is a great strategy for protection against cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease.
Sport, when practiced reasonably, shapes not only toned bodies but also toned memory traces and active knowledge.
That is why...
Do not let negative thoughts and worries nest within you.
If they do appear, from goodness knows where, in the majestic palace of your brain – ventilate them!
Sport is one of the best ways to do that!
100 times better than pharmacotherapy with antidepressants.
And any other drug molecules.
It is 100 times better to dedicate time to yourself and embrace the experience at the gym, on the court, in the pool, or anywhere else that gets your pulse racing and makes you sweat, rather than killing precious moments in the company of toxic people.
Choose your places, habits, people, and ideologies.
Because you have a conscious focus on your own health, peace, and tranquility.
Be active, well-hydrated, neuroplastic, and thirsty for new knowledge!
Be kind and gentle to yourself.
Almost no one in the outside world will do this for you or in your place.
Time flies. And as the years go by, you realize that not everyone will be pleased with and proud of your achievements. Some people will never applaud others' successes because they are just waiting for you to make a mistake. And then they tell you that you are not good enough. Do not let yourself be emotionally abused by them, or by anyone who constantly questions your life decisions.
Ignore these toxic people and just focus on being happy. On being useful to others. And to yourself. On practicing sports elegantly and reasonably. Add something beautiful to your soul and… grow every day.
When we do not grow… we lose.
And everything in nature is arranged this way – use it or lose it.
This is relentlessly true for two fundamentally important systems in our bodies – the nervous and the muscular.
Use it or lose it.
Stay focused.
The focus of your attention dictates the quality of your life.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Food supplements are not medicines and do not replace medical treatment.
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