You know exercise makes you feel better, but you may not know why. It’s true that exercise helps reduce muscle tension and boost endorphins- but it’s more than that. One of the big reasons we feel good when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best.

We live in a world filled with technology and tools so it’s easy to forget we are born to move! In order to survive over the ages our hunter-gatherer ancestors had to use their brains to find and store food. The relationship between food, physical activity, and learning is hardwired into the brain’s circuitry. The sedentary nature of modern life poses a big threat to our overall health and wellbeing.

To keep our brains at peak performance, our bodies need to work hard. Exercise helps a positive impact on learning and attention as well as improving mood; helps guard against stress and reverses some of the effects of aging in the brain. If you had half an hour of exercise this morning, you’re in the right frame of mind to sit still and focus on this newsletter and your brain is far more equipped to remember it!