• Claire Bellingham

Exercise - A Lifelong Learning

We often think of learning and gathering knowledge as a mental activity but it’s actually a holistic process involving your whole system. 

The brain is the most energy hungry organ in the body. To function optimally it needs plenty of oxygen and glucose, which are provided by blood that flows into the brain via arteries and capillaries. Exercise increases the density and size of brain capillaries, which in turn increases blood flow to the brain. So exercise can enhance your ability to learn and grow over a variety of dimensions. 

Many of my clients are studying (in all that spare time they have left over after parenting and working full time). Some of the busiest people I know are still able to make exercise a priority because it’s a foundation habit that enhances their ability to do everything else.  You don’t need to perform like an athlete, you just need to keep your blood circulating. Regular exercise enhances your ability to learn in three ways.

Firstly, exercise increases blood flow to the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that’s particularly receptive to new neuron growth in response to exercise. It’s the hub of learning and memory, so the more efficiently it functions the easier it is to retain information. The hippocampus naturally shrinks with age, but studies have shown that regular exercise can curb this shrinkage, significantly reducing cognitive decline.    

The second way exercise helps you learn and grow is by improving your brain’s executive function. Cognitive control means you can process information, set goals, make plans and organize yourself to achieve them.  Inhibition control means it’s easier to discipline yourself to do the things you know you want to do, such as continue to exercise. When your brain is operating efficiently you don’t have to work as hard to summon willpower. It’s easier to make swift effective choices and balance the triangle between work, family and health. 

The third brain benefit of exercise is stress management. Exercise moderates the negative effects of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Over-secretion of these hormones slows down all parts of the brain, which means that stress can feed on itself to put you into a downwards spiral.  It’s hard to learn and grow when your body and mind feels under siege. The more effectively you can use exercise to manage stress, the easier it is to focus on other foundation habits such as restful sleep and energizing food choices. 

All physical activity helps the brain by increasing circulation but you can get extra benefits from different types of movement. Any exercise that requires you to learn a new skill will activate new patterns of brain activity. More synaptic connections will be made when you’re testing your co-ordination so it’s important to change up your routine for continual challenge. Yoga offers extra benefits by turning on the body’s relaxation response. Regular practice can improve the operation of the amygdala, a deep brain structure which processes stress, fear and anxiety. If you’re under pressure and battling a heavy cognitive load the best exercise for you will be the type you enjoy most. 

Humans are designed to learn, grow and evolve on every dimension and if you’re not going forwards it’s usually because you’re going backwards. Regular exercise puts your body and mind into a state of renewal. It’s a foundation habit for a successful and rewarding life. 

 


By: , Claire Bellingham of Les Mills Takapuna.

Issue 88 June 2018