How Running Can Make Your Brain Work Better – runnersworld.com

• A recent study published in Nature looked at fitness levels in young people and compared that to their brain function.
• Researchers found that the higher their endurance, the better their brain worked.
• Fitter individuals scored higher on the cognitive tests and also had higher levels of white matter in the brain—which is your brain’s connection system, responsible for transmission of nerve signals.

You know exercising is smart. But might your workout actually be making you smarter?

In a study published in Nature, a group of over 1,100 people with an average age of about 28 participated in physical and mental tests. In the physical tests, participants walked as fast as they could for two minutes; their distance was measured as a proxy of their endurance. Those who went farthest in the two-minute test scored highest for endurance.

In the mental tests, researchers gauged things like memory, reasoning, and judgement. They also used MRI tests to look at brain function.

The tests revealed the fittest people—those with higher levels of endurance—scored better on the cognitive tests and higher levels of something called fractional anisotropy, which resembles white matter in the brain.

White matter is your brain’s communication system—think wires that connect brain parts with each other to share messages, as Jonathan Repple Ph.D., of the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy at the University of Muenster Hospital in Muenster, Germany, explained to Runner’s World. If you have high levels of intact white matter, it means your wiring is solid—your brain is well-connected and brain cells can quickly communicate.

[From training tips, to fueling strategies, to improving the mind-body connection, the Runner’s World 2020 Calendar will help you run your best all year long.]

Those with higher endurance also had higher global cognition scores, which measure things like sorting, memory, and recognition to give a view on overall cognitive performance.

“Better fitness causes better blood supply to the brain, causes an increase in nerve-stimulating hormones, and causes decreases in inflammation, which could lead to better ‘insulation’ of the white matter ‘wires,’” Repple said.

And while more research is needed to prove cause and effect—say, that it’s not that better brain health that leads to better endurance—it seems that your workout can boost both body and mind.

Digital Editor Her love of all things outdoors came from growing up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and her passion for running was sparked by local elementary school cross-country meets.