We all know exercise is good for us, but could this also be good for making our brains stronger? Most people think the only way to train your brain is by studying harder, doing puzzles, or reading more books. But scientists have found out that working out is also very beneficial.

That’s right. Just like lifting weights can make your muscles grow, a few minutes of exercise each day can help your brain work better. Research shows that doing only 6 to 10 minutes can make you sharper, improve your memory, and even increase the size of certain parts of your brain. So, let’s find out more about this.

A surprising study

A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health showed that even a few minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise can improve your working memory and also boost higher-level skills like organizing, prioritizing, and planning.

Even more surprising, another study showed that just two minutes of exercise at moderate to high intensity already provides clear benefits for attention, concentration, learning, and memory, for up to two hours.

Moderate and vigorous exercise

The researchers explain two main types of exercise:

  • Moderate: fast walking, slow jogging, or climbing stairs. These activities aren’t easy, but you can still carry on a conversation while doing them.
  • Vigorous: faster jogging, cycling, swimming, or HIIT workouts. These are harder, and it’s much more difficult to talk while you’re exercising.

What happens if you don’t do exercise?

The same study found that replacing just eight minutes of activity with sitting caused mental ability to drop by 1% to 2%. That may not sound like much, but it shows how even a few minutes of exercise can be important for your brain.

The researchers wrote that greater amounts of moderate to vigorous exercise were linked to higher cognitive scores. Losing that exercise time, even if it seems small, is especially harmful.

More time, more benefits

The more exercise you do (up to a point) the greater the benefits, not just for your body but also for your brain. Other studies have shown that working out can slow or even reverse physical decay in the brain. Contrary to what many people think, new brain cells can still be created. For example, working out has been proven to increase the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, even in people in their 60s and 70s.

Concrete examples

One study found that walking briskly for 40 minutes, three times a week, increased hippocampal volume by just over 2%. A review of many studies found that doing just two minutes of aerobics at moderate to high intensity improved attention and memory for up to two hours.

What does moderate exercise look like in real life?

Scientists explain that the goal is to get your heart rate to about 60% to 75% of your maximum. Maximum heart rate is usually calculated as 220 minus your age.

For example, if you are 60 years old, your maximum heart rate is about 160 beats per minute. Moderate exercise would raise it to around 100 beats per minute. At that level, you can still talk, though you may need to pause for breath now and then.

Any form of exercise that gets you there works: walking briskly, cycling, jogging, or bodyweight training.

Consistency

So if you’ve ever thought, “I want to be smarter, but I don’t know where to start,” the answer might be as easy as moving your body. But do you know the best part? There’s no need for paying a gym membership or using fancy equipment. The kind of exercise that helps your brain can be as simple as walking quickly, jogging slowly, or climbing stairs. However, you should keep in mind that the most important thing is choosing something you enjoy and can do every day and be consistent.