Walter van den Broek (AKA Dr Shock) provides a summary of the research on the neuroscience of exercise, or: the cognitive benefits of an active lifestyle. Exercise…
- improves learning and intelligence scores.
- increases the resilience of the brain in later life resulting in a cognitive reserve.
- [attenuates] the decline of memory, cortex and hippocampus atrophy in aging humans.
- improves memory and cognition.
- protects against brain damage caused by stroke.
- promotes recovery after brain injury.
- can be an antidepressant.
Reporting on a study conducted at the Neuroplasticity and Behavioral Unit, National Institute on Aging (part of the National Institutes of Health), van den Broek also looks at foods that have been shown to be beneficial for learning (among other brain functions), in addition to providing a bit of neuroscience on how exercise actually “improves the brain”.