{"id":57438,"date":"2015-05-26T09:13:26","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T15:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ishmaels.net\/blog\/?p=57438"},"modified":"2015-05-26T09:13:26","modified_gmt":"2015-05-26T15:13:26","slug":"what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ishmaels.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/26\/what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens to Our Brains When We Exercise and How It Makes Us Happier"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Leo Widrich<\/a>AUGUST 23, 201284 Comments <\/a><\/p>\n

Exercise has been touted to be a cure for nearly everything in life<\/a>, from depression<\/a>, to memory loss<\/a>, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Parkinson\u2019s and more. At the same time, similar to the topic of sleep<\/a>, I found myself having very little specific and scientific knowledge about what exercise really does to our bodies and our brains.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, yes, I know all about it, that\u2019s the thing<\/strong> with the endorphins, that makes you feel<\/strong> good and why we should exercise and stuff, right?\u201d is what I can hear myself say to someone bringing this up. I would pick up things here and there, yet really digging into the connection of exercise and how it effects us<\/a> has never been something I\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n

Inspired by a recent post<\/strong> from Joel on what makes us happy<\/a> I\u2019ve set out to uncover the connection between our feeling of happiness and exercising regularly.<\/p>\n

Share this story<\/a> with your followers when they\u2019re most likely to click, favorite, and reply!<\/strong> Schedule your next post<\/strong> with Buffer!<\/p>\n

What triggers happiness in our brain when we exercise?<\/h4>\n

Most of us are aware of what happens to the body when we exercise. We build more muscle or more stamina. We feel<\/strong> how daily activities like climbing stairs becomes easier if we exercise regularly. When it comes to our brain and mood though, the connection isn\u2019t so clear.<\/p>\n

The line around our \u201cendorphins are released\u201d is more something I throw around to sound smart, without really knowing what it means. Here is what actually happens:<\/p>\n

If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress<\/a>. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. To protect yourself and your brain from stress, you release a protein called BDNF<\/a> (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This BDNF<\/strong> has a protective and also reparative element to your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch. That\u2019s why we often feel<\/strong> so at ease and things are clear after exercising and eventually happy.<\/p>\n

At the same time, endorphins, another chemical to fight stress, is released in your brain. Your endorphins main purpose is this writes<\/a> researcher McGovern:<\/p>\n

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These endorphins tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Overall, there is a lot<\/strong> going on inside our brain and it is in fact oftentimes a lot<\/strong> more active than when we are just sitting down<\/a> or actually concentrating mentally:<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

So, BDNF<\/strong> and endorphins are the reasons exercise makes us feel<\/strong> so good. The somewhat scary part is that they have a very similar and addictive behavior like morphine, heroine or nicotine. The only difference? Well, it\u2019s actually good for us.<\/p>\n

The key to maximize happiness through exercise: don\u2019t do more, but focus on when<\/h4>\n

Now here is where it all gets interesting now. We know the basic foundations of why exercising makes us happy<\/a> and what happens inside our brain cells. The most important part to uncover now, is of course how we can trigger this in an optimal and longer lasting way.<\/p>\n

A recent study<\/a> from Penn State university shed some light on the matter<\/strong> and the results are more than surprising. They found that to be more productive and happier on a given work day, it doesn\u2019t matter so much, if you work-out regularly, if you haven\u2019t worked out on that particular day<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThose who had exercised during the preceding month but not on the day<\/strong> of testing generally did better on the memory test than those who had been sedentary, but did not perform nearly as well as those who had worked out that morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

New York Times best-selling author Gretchen Reynolds has written<\/a> a whole book about the subject matter<\/strong> titled \u201cThe first 20 minutes\u201d. To get the highest level<\/strong> of happiness and benefits for health, the key is not to become a professional athlete. On the contrary, a much smaller amount is needed to reach the level<\/strong> where happiness and productivity in every day<\/strong> life peaks:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe first 20 minutes of moving around, if someone has been really sedentary, provide most of the health benefits. You get prolonged life, reduced disease risk \u2014 all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So really, you can relax and don\u2019t have to be on the look-out for the next killer work-out. All you have to do is get some focused 20 minutes in to get the full happiness boost every day:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cOn exercise days, people\u2019s mood significantly improved after exercising. Mood stayed about the same on days they didn\u2019t, with the exception of people\u2019s sense of calm which deteriorated.\u201d (University of Bristol<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How to get into a consistent exercise habit: The dance with the endorphins<\/h4>\n

Now, that\u2019s all nice to hear you might say, starting to exercise regularly<\/a> or even daily is still easier written than done. At end of the day, there is quite a lot<\/strong> of focus required to help you get into the habit of exercising daily. The most important part to note first, is that exercise is a \u201ckeystone\u201d habit<\/a> according to Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of \u201cThe Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business<\/a>\u201c. This means that daily exercise can pave the way not only for happiness, but also growth in all other areas of your life.<\/p>\n

In a recent post<\/strong> from Joel, he wrote abou the power of daily exercise for his every day<\/strong> life. Coincidentally, he follows the above rules very accurately and exercises daily before doing anything else. He writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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By 9:30am, I\u2019ve done an hour of coding on the most important task I have right<\/strong> now on Buffer<\/a>, I\u2019ve been to the gym and had a great session, and I\u2019ve done 30 minutes of emails. It\u2019s only 9:30am and I\u2019ve already succeeded, and I feel<\/strong> fantastic.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve spoken lots to Joel about his habit of exercising and here are some of the most important things to do, in order to set yourself up for success and make your daily exercise fun:<\/p>\n