The Weekly Stroll. Taking a walk after dinner once a week may be all that is needed to help your brain become more nimble. Specifically, doing low-intensity exercise for 30 minutes could help the brain be more effective in reacting to challenges and reinventing and repairing itself—something researchers call enhanced plasticity—according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. According to the Australian researchers activities as simple as a stroll may have the potential to boost motor learning and speed recovery that is the result of brain damage. Lunch Time Yoga. If it’s memory and focus you’re looking to improve, grab your yoga mat. Just 20 minutes of yoga trumps aerobic exercise when it comes to boosting executive brain function, according to a new study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. Executive function is an umbrella term for high order cognitive processes, like planning, problem-solving, and multitasking; and researchers observed how different types of exercise affect two specific processes: working memory (trying to remember a person’s phone number while driving) and inhibitory control (the ability to tune out other distractions and focus on what’s important). To do this, 30 female undergraduate students, were asked to complete two workouts on separate days: a 20 minute yoga progression or 20 minutes on the treadmill while maintaining a moderate intensity of 60% to 70% of their maximum heart rate. After each workout, participants completed two cognitive tasks. There weren’t any significant improvements in working memory or inhibitory control after 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. But for the yogis? Speedier brain function, more solid, sustained focus, and the improved ability to take in, retain, and use new information. Researcher Neha Gothe, PhD, found the brain-boosting effects of yoga to last about 30-40 minutes after the workout (more immediate than aerobic exercise), but “if one single bout of exercise can affect cognition, the more you do it, and more regularly you are likely to experience similar effects,” she says, which is precisely why anyone who practiced yoga on a regular basis was excluded from the study. “The meditative exercises in yoga aim to help you focus and be aware within the moment by trying to keep distracting thoughts away,” says Gothe. Not into strolling or getting your downward dog on? Don’t worry, exercise is still good for your brain—just different parts of it as these two studies show. More from Prevention: Fix It With Yoga
