Your Best Ideas Won’t Arrive at a Desk
DR SHAADY HARRISON | 3 minutes
It’s breaking the rules of science.
Not only is it protecting existing brain cells, it’s stimulating the growth of completely new ones.
Researchers have never seen anything like it – the list of benefits seems to grow with every study.
Psychiatrists start calling it Miracle-Gro for the brain.
Yet this isn’t the story of a revolutionary new drug, prescription or medical breakthrough.
It’s the after-effects of exercise.
Your Brain Isn’t Fixed
Until fairly recently, scientists believed the adult brain was fixed. You got the brain you were given, watched it slowly decline with time, and did your best not to damage it too badly along the way.
Thankfully, this depressing little theory gradually went completely out the window.
The human brain is remarkably capable of change. Under the right conditions, it strengthens old connections, fosters new ones, and even grows completely new brain cells.
Turns out those conditions don’t require expensive protocols, a drawer full of supplements or a private membership to a longevity clinic.
They just need us to get moving.
Brain Food
When we move, the body releases a cascade of chemical signals that travel through the bloodstream and into the brain.
Exercise triggers the release of a molecule called BDNF.
BDNF acts like a super-fertiliser for the brain, helping neurons grow, connect and thrive.
It’s no coincidence that some of our best ideas come when our bodies are moving.
Our ancestors spent most of their time on their feet. This meant our brains learned to treat exercise as a meaningful signal – a moving body was normal, a sedentary one was not.
Every time you move you’re sending a message to your brain that life is happening.
It responds by flooding the system with a powerful mix of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline.
These biochemical changes help explain why we feel so different after exercise.
Life seems clearer, our problems feel smaller, and we feel a little less stuck.
Over the course of a lifetime, these small internal shifts start to tilt the odds in our favour.
The Long Game
The difference between looking after the body and ignoring it is invisible over the course of a week.
But give it a decade, and the gap becomes impossible to hide.
Every time we move, we’re upgrading the internal conditions our minds are working in. And it doesn’t take much – a brisk walk, a swim, a workout – anything that breaks the spell of sitting still is enough to remind the nervous system that it’s alive and capable.
In the moment, these decisions don’t feel life-altering.
But the body notices.
And over time, so does the mind.
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Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Erickson K.I., Voss M.W., Prakash R.S. et al. 2011. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 3017–3022.
A meta-analytic review of the effects of exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Szuhany KL, Bugatti M, Otto MW. 2015. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 60, 56–64.
Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults: A meta-analytic study. Colcombe S., Kramer A.F.. 2003. Psychological Science, 14(2), 125–130.
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About The Author
Shaady Harrison is a British medical doctor, writer and private advisor specialising in the intersection of psychology, calm and performance.