Could physical fitness be so closely intertwined with mental fitness as to be practically the same thing? If part of your New Year's resolution last January was about getting yourself more motivated to work out, to turn fit as a fiddle, this could maybe give you a kick in the pants: scientists are finding more and more evidence, and they are doing the research for this, that a good deal of exercise turns not just your body into this well-oiled machine; it does this for your brain too. Maybe you've heard of news like this before, but only in the context of older people who could fight senility by going out for a walk a bit. But this recent research doesn't go to anything that limited; young, middle-aged or old, exercise gives everyone a real brain fitness boost.
A very recent study, makes this interesting finding: 18-year-old boys were picked for their excellent cardiovascular health, and tested for academic ability; often, they did better at various logic and reasoning tests than boys of that age who were less fit. 15-year-old boys who did not enjoy good cardiovascular health, if they could be persuaded to get in shape before they were 18, always steadily showed improved brain fitness, and an test performance. And those same 18-year-olds were seen to go on to achieve better education later in life. This study appeared in the scientific publication, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences just couple of months ago.
Of course, you can't let a single study run away with you; and exercise may not affect everyone in the same way with improved brain fitness. But if you take it together with all kinds of other expert advice out there, you could safely assume that a better ability to do cardiovascular fitness exercises, better breathing ability, a better facility at calisthenics, will sharpen you up for better performance at school. There has been another study done on military conscripts in Europe, who happen to have civilian twin brothers or sisters. The military forces you to keep yourself fighting fit; it was found that the military twins were nearly always better at IQ tests than the less-stressed twins. This study has certainly given this whole premise a big boost. Getting identical twins to perform differently at IQ tests is no small matter.
It isn't that just any kind of exercise makes you smarter. Weight training on the bench, rarely does anything for you in the brain fitness department. It has to be all about getting the heart pumping, getting the blood flowing; more fresh blood helps nourish the brain. Your brain gets more nutrients, more oxygen, heals better, makes better nerve connections, and in general keeps itself well-lubricated. So much for what happens to young adults. But what about people who are over 40? Well, there has been research done on this too; plenty of blood-pumping aerobics at this age has all-around benefits for general mental health, and brain fitness also. It helps with anxiety, lowers depressive feelings, and while it won't make you smarter, will keep you from declining. But aerobics do help you with your memory.
Who hasn't noticed that a quick trip to the treadmill at the office gym, always gets you more alert, and like not even a cigarette does for smokers? Lots of people say that they get their best ideas when they are on the treadmill - that it lets the world fall away and allows you to physically grapple with anything on your mind. So there you have it: exercise helps you, body, spirit, mind and soul.
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