The first week of December is generally the beginning of the end as far as routine and predictability goes. However this year routine and predictability went out the window in March. It’s impossible to know what combination of Christmas chaos and Covid chaos we’ll be experiencing this summer.
Mental resilience is the ability to adapt to adverse conditions – it comes from your brain but is heavily influenced by your body. 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.
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 organise 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 through the festive frenzy.
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 downward 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 energising food choices.
This year I learned a lot more about another brain benefit of exercise. In October I sustained a concussion which is a head injury affecting brain function. I was prescribed a programme by an exercise physiologist specialising in concussion recovery. Appropriate exercise stimulates the production of chemicals that promote cell growth and neuroplasticity. One example is the protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). It increases synaptic plasticity, improving communication between cells in the brain. Basically it helps you learn to tie your shoelaces again. And, it seems, submit an article to Channel magazine.
I’ve been writing about the benefits of movement for a long time and I’ve never been more evangelical about it than I am today. If you’re in good enough health to exercise, then you’re very fortunate. Many people around the world are suffering with illness and would give anything to be in your shoes. Cherish your health, your family and all your blessings this Christmas.
