Richard Nantel

In my last post on brain plasticity, I mentioned that many people may soon embrace life-long learning to maintain mental health with the same fervor in which they attempt to maintain physical fitness through exercise.

It turns out physical fitness, brain health, and learning may be closely linked. According to an article in newsweek, people who are physically active have healthier brains and are able to learn more effectively.

This article mentions the result of one study of 259 Illinois third and fifth graders, which measured their body-mass index and put them through classic physical education exercises. The physical abilities of the students were then compared to math and reading scores on a statewide standardized test. The article goes on to say that “on the whole, the kids with the fittest bodies were the ones with the fittest brains, even when factors such as socioeconomic status were taken into account.”

The reason appears to be that strenuous physical activity produces a protein called IGF-1 that “travels through the bloodstream, across the blood-brain barrier and into the brain itself.” One scientist goes so far as to refer to this protein as “Miracle-Gro for the brain.”

We’re always looking for ways to improve the effectiveness of training. Perhaps one of the best strategies would be to incorporate physical activity into the learning plan.