What's good for our hearts and waistlines also appears to be good for our minds.
Q: What is the relationship between physical and mental fitness? Does exercise enhance our brain power?
A: Mounting scientific evidence on the effects of exercise suggests that what's good for our hearts and waistlines also is good for our minds.
"Exercise in many ways optimizes your brain to learn," says Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston who's at work on a book about exercise and the brain.
Exercise improves circulation throughout the body, including the brain, Ratey explains. Exercise also boosts metabolism, decreases stress and improves mood and attention, all of which help the brain perform better, he says.
"The brain cells actually become more resilient and more pliable and are more ready to link up," he says. It's this linking up that allows us to retain new information.
Sweat in style: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42358935#42358935
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