Exercise and the Brain

We all know those people.

They show up to class with
a light ethereal sheen of sweat

on their forehead,
with their fixed gear bike in tow.

And they go for a light jog at lunch.
And then they eat a PowerBar.

Or they bow out after drinks for a quick
little jaunt on the elliptical.

Sure, sure they’re gym rats
and they're pretty darn annoying.

But they may be on to something when it
comes to- wait for it - mental health!

Yep. We're going to get you
into their camp without

having you invest in
leg warmers and wristbands.

Today on Wellcast we're going to be
talking about exercise.

Now, we all know that exercise can help
out with our weight

and our strength and
our endurance and our flexibility.

But how much do you know about
the effects of exercise on the mind?

Physically the benefits of
exercise are pretty obvious

and the American
College of Sports Medicine

recommends 30 minutes of
moderate physical activity per day.

The Surgeon General – well, he agrees.

It'll keep your heart healthy,
your weight down, and all systems go.

But the psychological benefits of exercise
are actually just as compelling.

Physically active people show
significantly fewer symptoms

of depression than sedentary people.

A study done by doctors at
the University of Texas Medical Center

found that people who exercise
30 minutes per day were

almost half as likely to be depressed
as people who did not.

Exercise also releases endorphins to
the brain creating a sense of well-being.

It makes people high on wellness

and it's natural, legal, and it
won't give you the munchies.

Along with it getting you awesomely
pumped up on endorphins,

exercise increases alpha
wave activity to the brain.

That's the kind of brain wave that
helps you clear your mind and focus.

But now, we've come to a roadblock.
To a lot of people exercise is boring.

You don't like getting sweaty.
It's uncomfortable.

It's not fun you don't have time.
The list goes on.

But that's why we're here and we're going
to get you into a brain clearing,

focus building exercise routine
that won't seem too daunting to start.

And we're going to get your brain
to realize why exercise is essential.

Time for our Wellcast journal workout.

And we actually mean
a physical one this time.

First, set aside 30 minutes to workout.

That's right put on
that workout gear of choice,

crank up your music,
get your heart rate up.

Get sweaty, dance around
if you need to.

Do jumping jacks, jog in place,
take a break to do a few sit-ups.

Nothing too intimidating, though. Okay?

And after 30 minutes, sit down
with your Wellcast journal

and write about it and about
how you felt during the workout.

Not how your body felt.
Focus on your mind:

Did you have trouble starting? How did you
feel in the middle of the workout?

At the end? Now try doing this
every day for one week.

That's right pump iron,
run in place, do sit-ups,

do those jumping jacks for
30 minutes every day.

At the end of the week write down how
your mood has changed within that period.

The brain recognizes
success when it sees it.

Which means the better you feel
emotionally after working out,

the more likely you are to do it
on a semi-regular basis.

And then you'll recap all those
other physical benefits too.

Let's recap - everyone knows how exercise
has all those of physical benefits.

Well, Hi. Well here it Wellcast
we focused only on

the mental ones anyway
you exercise for 30 minutes

and then you wrote in
your journal right off the bat

you were probably pretty tired.

But when you came back
for another journaling session

we want to know how you felt.

Did you get any of that focus
that all these studies boast about?

What about after one week?
Let us know how your exercise went.

Tweet us @WatchWellcast.
Email us at [e-mail]

or leave a comment down below.

We'll see you next time.