How to Boost Your Brain Health Part 1

Boosting brain health – Part 1

Physical fitness is something we’re all aware of and know how to improve relatively quickly. Brain health is a bit more of an unknown and as a result, isn’t so easily slotted into our day-to-day. As someone whose maternal grandmother and mother both had vascular dementia, this is something I’m starting to think about beyond my daily Wordle! The good news is, after a little research, it’s highly apparent that there are lots of things you can do, and people who’re physically active are more likely to keep their minds sharp. Exercise boosts your body and your brain. Moderate exercise alone can sharpen your memory and thinking in just six months. [1]

Someone in the know on this is Dr McGinnis of Harvard Medical School. He notes that exercise can ‘stimulate the growth of new blood vessels in the brain and increase the abundance, survival and overall health of new brain cells’. [2] Sounds like good news! The part of the brain linked to memory and learning is larger in people who exercise compared to those who don’t. Improved memory and thinking are also by-products of exercise due to its links to improved mood and sleep through reduced levels of stress and anxiety. Difficulties with any of these ultimately result in cognitive impairment. Just ask any sleep deprived mother!

Here are some easy brain health boosting suggestions.

Dr McGinnis recommends treating exercise like taking prescription medication. Set a goal of 150 minutes of brisk walking a week, starting with a few minutes a day.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is essentially ‘Miracle Gro’ for our brains and its production is super boosted after just 6 minutes of strenuous exertion. Incorporating interval training into your exercise regime is like feeding your brain super food! As lactic acid builds up during high intensity exercise, BDNF levels also soar. So, a short sprint at the end of a run, powerwalking, or cycling faster for 6 minutes is all it takes to super charge your brain health. As someone who hates feeling out of breath, I’m going to try and incorporate a few short sprints into my runs to cash in on the BDNF pay out!
Simply exercise outdoors! [4] Apparently the environment we exercise in is just as important as the exercise itself. Time spent outdoors increases the benefits of your workout to a level similar to intense exercise. So exercising outdoors has an increased effect on brain function!
If conventional exercise doesn’t appeal, just get dancing! Dancing benefits several areas of the brain due to the release of serotonin, our natural mood booster. It also has positive effects on cognitive function and long-term memory. [5]

So, at a time when our lives are increasing sedentary and spent indoors in front of screens, the secret to brain health seems to be actually relatively simple. Just move as much as possible, and maximise the time you spend outdoors. In an increasingly complicated world, back to basics is key in boosting and maintain our brain health!

[1] Harvard Health Publishing, ‘Exercise can boost your memory and thinking skills’, October 20,2023

[2] Ibid

[3] The Washington Post, ‘How Exercise leads to sharper thinking and a healthier brain’, Gretchen Reynolds, April 5^th 2023

[4] Nature, ‘Exercising is good for the brain but exercising outside is potentially better’, K Boere, K Lloyd, Godon Binsted & E Krigolsen, Nature.com, 20 January 2023