Your alarm blasts alerting you that it’s time to start a new day. You push the snooze button as many times as you can to get a few extra minutes of necessary sleep. You finally drag yourself to the kitchen to put on the coffee and boost your brainpower. Without this caffeinated drink, you know you will be lethargic and sluggish till lunch.
This common scenario happens in nearly every home in America. People are exhausted from a lack of sleep and stress. They try to self-medicate their fatigue by using things like caffeine and other harmful stimulants. The truth is that your body is crying out for something else that can give you the boost you need without any side effects.
You can boost your mental abilities with sugar or caffeine only to crash a short time later. Or you can get your blood flowing to your brain with a cardiovascular workout. A study done in Germany proved that when you exercise, your brain functions better, and your cognitive performance increases.
Boost Your Brainpower with Cardiovascular Exercise
How long has it been since you’ve been to the gym? Perhaps, you bought expensive equipment that has become excellent storage for your clothes or other household items. Your body was meant to move, and when you allow it to remain in a stationary position, you are causing more harm than good.
These people said that they barely move at all. Only three percent of the participants moved more than four hours each day. Wow! It’s easy to see why the obesity epidemic is so out of control in this country.
With computers, smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart televisions, and all the other devices out there, people have become lazy regarding exercise. Sadly, as a person ages, they automatically experience cognitive decline.
However, aerobic exercise has been proven to give you better brain functioning and enhance memory, concentration, and learning. Remember the last time you hiked up a mountain, jogged in the park, or did a vigorous cardiovascular workout. The chances are that you felt energized when it was completed.
Instead of trading your desk chair for a seat in the cafeteria at lunch, why not go outside and do a brisk walk to boost your brainpower? It could make the difference in how you feel at the end of the day and give your brain the jolt it needs.
Boost Your Brainpower Without Harmful Substances
When you do a workout, you will think clearer, and you won’t have to pump yourself full of coffee to get a similar effect. You will lift the brain fog and tackle each happenstance with a crystal-clear mind. Think of your brain as a light bulb.
When you turn on a compact fluorescent lamp or a CFL bulb, it takes a few minutes for them to illuminate fully. They start with just a dim glow, and it’s hard to see when they are in this initial warm-up phase. Slowly, they get amped-up, and they can shine to their fullest potential.
Your brain functions like these CFL bulbs. When you first get out of bed, you’re sluggish because your brain waves slow as you sleep. While your mind is still alert, it’s shut down many of your body functions so that it can heal and restore damaged areas.
The fact is that you can’t go from zero to 100 with your brain with the snap of a finger. It takes time to boost your brainpower. Many people are doing this all wrong with harmful substances when a good workout is what they need. A one-hour workout has the power to increase your cognitive functioning for about 120 minutes after you’ve finished.
Sweat More, Stress Less
Have you ever tried going up and down the stairs several times? When you climb stairs, it’s easy to sweat. The sweat is a sign that you’re breathing is increasing, and so is the blood flow to the brain.
Your brain is getting oxygen and blood to each cell, which is necessary for function. When you work your muscles, they send a rush of hormones straight to your head. Inside your brain, they mix with your brain chemicals to help with your mood, cell growth, and learning processes.
An excellent way to think of it is like giving your brain a dose of miracle grow, much as you would do to a plant. It’s those hormones that alter how you feel. How many times have you heard someone say that you need to boost your serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine levels to combat anxiety and depression? These vital transmitters are responsible for your focus, tension, and anxiety, as well as your overall wellbeing.
When these chemicals become unbalanced, you will suffer in your mind and body. However, you can take control of these issues without expensive trips to the doctor or pharmacy counter. When you get your body moving, everything goes into perfect balance.
Now, here’s something that will shock you; exercise can work the same for you as antidepressant medication. That’s right; many people are popping pills, and all they need to do is get their body moving. They have the power to control their depression and anxiety by simply moving more and charging their hormones.
If you did a workout for one hour a day, three days a week, then you would see a significant change in your mood and overall cognitive function. Another exciting fact about boosting your brain power with exercise is that it increases your hippocampus area’s size. This part of the brain is responsible for both your learning and memory capabilities. Your recall and concentration levels will improve.
When you’re doing a dreaded task like balancing the checkbook or working on your taxes, it may be a good idea to do a workout first. Since cardiovascular exercises will improve your attention, enhance your memory, and help you with accuracy, why aren’t more people learning that you have the power to fix the sluggishness you feel?
The Mental Benefit
A study found that individuals who exercised on lunch and breaks at work are 23 percent more productive on those days. The research looked at people that engaged in an aerobic workout to see how it influenced their body. They found that a pulse-pounding exercise session was as stimulating as coffee, plus there are no harmful side effects.
Workouts that get the heart pumping have such a powerful effect on the mind that many experts dub the phenomenon as cardio-induced clarity. People who learn how to time their workout sessions exactly right can ensure they have the adrenaline boost they need for specific periods during the day.
Now, what about your ability to remember names and other important details? Forgetfulness is something that many people struggle with as they get older. However, if you just run on your treadmill for 20 minutes, it can increase your problem-solving abilities. Keep in mind that the more intense your workout, the better clarity you’ll experience.
It’s the end of the workday, and you barely have the strength to make it to your car and do the drive home. You pull into a houseful of children who are waiting for dinner. How are you ever going to make it through the evening with all you need to accomplish?
You’ve already had a ten-hour day, and you have at least another six hours of stuff to do at home. There’s nothing that says that you must workout at a particular time. You can do several small sessions to boost your brainpower when you need it most.
Why not get the kids together and dance to the oldies for 20 minutes before cooking dinner? Not only will they have fun jumping around and spending time with you, but you will help everyone with their clarity, focus, and energy.
Final Thoughts on Using Exercise to Boost Your Brainpower
Feeling sluggish all day is not a unique problem. Some say that a low diet and lack of exercise is why so many people are stressed and exhausted. You need vital nutrients to help fuel your system, and exercise helps fire those neurons and get critical blood flow to the brain.
If only people would learn that the answer is not taking one medication after another to combat something that can naturally be taken care of. How many times do experts recommend a diet that consists of no sugar, red dyes, wheat, soy, and dairy products for the child with ADHD? The reason is that stimulant medications can do the same thing for you as alterations you can make without using prescriptions.
Those who currently take medications must talk to their primary care physician before stopping any medications, but natural remedies work. You can boost your brainpower, improve your mood, and have a better life when you get moving.
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