Doctors love to highlight the importance of daily physical activity. Regular exercise and physical activity help us stay positive, reduce stress, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Likewise, keeping our brain active may help improve our memory and reduce the risk of dementia in late adulthood. Latest studies put these claims to the test to try and prove how these activities can boost your brain power.
The Effect of Physical Activity
A Stanford study shows that walking can actually improve our creativity. The researchers tested whether students would perform better on a test of creative thinking when seated inside, or walking outdoors. The results showed that walking outside can stimulate our brains, with participants experiencing an 81% boost in creativity.
In another study, a moderate physical activity also increased the attention of Dutch primary schoolchildren. After two 20-minute bouts of exercise during 130 minutes of lessons, all children displayed better performances on the “Sky Search” test of selective attention.
The Effect of Mental Activity
Equally, a light mental activity can also contribute to keeping your brain healthy, improve memory, and boost your brain power. A 2007 study conducted on rats shows that learning over time induces a more persistent memory. Comparing the animals that learned well with ones that learned poorly, the scientists concluded that well-trained animals showed much better results in maze trials. Another study reaches the same conclusion, attributing this effect to the increased number of neurons in the hippocampus.
Research shows that even light mental activity, like Bingo, can be of great therapeutic value to the daily management of patients with Alzheimer’s. According to this study, daily mental activity improves concentration, short-term memory, and word recognition.
Conclusion
As you can see, daily physical and mental activity can help us improve our brain function. If you want to boost your brain power, start exercising or at least engage in some light physical activity such as walking. It would also do you good to keep your brain active by learning new skills, reading, and doing puzzles.
