第12章 让你的大脑更聪明 (1)

Exercise Your Head

佚名 / Anonymous

It goes without saying that exercise is good for your body， but what many don’t realize is that it’s also good for your mind. No， we don’t mean that weight training will suddenly turn you into an Einstein—but study has found that working out regularly improves your mood， boosts your sense of self-esteem and even enhances the function of your brain.

As with other aspects of the health connection between mind and body， scientists are only beginning to understand why physical workouts also provide a mental and emotional boost. But many possibilities are already known， and new research is continually going forward. For those in search of mental as well as physical motivation， here are 12 extra reasons to begin a workout program for the new millennium.

1. Working out can give you a sense of exhilaration and accomplishment， and the increased self-esteem that results from doing something you know is good for you.

2. Exercise causes your body to produce endorphins， the chemicals that dull pain and help produce what’s known as the exercise high.

3. Weight-bearing exercise particularly raises your testosterone levels， which can help improve your mood， especially if your levels are naturally on the low side.

4. According to Harvard psychiatrist John J.Raety， M.d.， coauthor of a book on psychological disorders called Syndromes， a single workout can raise your brain’s levels of antidepressant chemicals， such as dopamine， serotonin and norepinephrine.

5. If you are feeling down， exercise may help pick you up. Although researchers disagree on this issue， one review of past studies found that long-term exercise， especially when it includes long-lasting， strenuous training sessions， has about as much of an effect on depression as psychotherapy. ( Of course， this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek therapy. If you believe you may be suffering from depression， the first thing to do is to consult a mental-health professional. )

6. Working out helps you deal with stress in your job， relationships or any area of life—possibly because exercise is a form of stress itself and helps condition your body to deal with it. When Australian researchers compared people who did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week to those who practiced progressive-relaxation techniques， they found that the former group responded better to acute stress and had lower blood pressure.

7. Even a little exercise can make you think less anxiously， Studies have shown that any amount of exercise， from a brisk 10-minute walk to an intense aerobics or weight-lifting session， seems to decrease feelings of anxiety.

8. Aerobic exercise may make you think better. Over time， cardio exercise (coupled with a healthful diet) improves the flow of blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to your brain.