Memory, mood and mental health: 3 essential ways exercise helps your mind

• Aside from helping you stay in shape, exercising is also beneficial for your mental health.
• Research shows that working out could help regulate your mood and mitigate symptoms of depression. 
• It also has other benefits like improving memory, says Dr Wendy Suzuki. 

According to experts, exercise helps your mind in three essential ways.

Cognition

Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland and the University of Tsukuba in Japan found that playing sports with other people impacts cognitive performance more than solo fitness activities.

Coordination and interaction with other players can lead to new brain cells and neural connection growth in the frontal lobe.

READ MORE | Four reasons swimming should be your next workout

Memory

“When you exercise, your body pumps out a wide range of neurochemicals, including growth factors that stimulate the birth of brand-new brain cells in the hippocampus,” Dr Wendy Suzuki, professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University’s Center for Neural Science told Health, according to Cover Media.

“I use that as my personal motivation to keep working out every day.”

READ MORE | Muscle memory is key to helping you get in shape again after time away from exercise

Mood

Research shows that exercise can mitigate symptoms of depression. It can also improve your quality of sleep, contributing to your mental health state.

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