Magic Pill For Optimum Mental Health

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Are you interested in magic formula that will change your life magically as the name suggests? Well, to get this magic pill you need to sacrifice some 30 minutes of your morning time. It has a lot of amazing benefits, it basically improves your brain and learning capability, nearly triples your capability to handle stress and anxiety, and boosts your motivation. It is like upgrading you to a better you for the rest of the day in exchange for about 30 minutes or thereabouts of your time.

I will have to admit here that the title has a little bit of click baiting to it as I have been talking about Exercise but i did not exaggerate its effect on the brain one bit.

We have been told severally exercise is for building muscles and loosing weight. That statement is not up to half of the true benefit of exercise. Why do we need to exercise? That sounds like one of the most obvious question ever. Exercise is for strengthening our muscles and loosing weight...Most third graders would answer that right? But that answer is not half correct. Exercise have more beneficial effects on the brain than any part of the body.

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How does the brain work?

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Unlike many would have thought, the brain is not a fixed organ but flexible like your body muscles. According to neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert

The brain for one thing only, for producing adaptable and complex movement.

Different studies have shown there is a big connection between physical movements and mental capacity. The lesser the movement, the more the brain shrinks.

A good example is the Kaola which used to have a much bigger brain earlier in its evolution but developed a slothful lifestyle and a shrunk brain due to its dependency on close Eucalyptus leaves for its energy needs so it doesn't have to much around much for its survival. A big brain is required for complex movements and less movement shrinks the brain capacity.

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The brain recognizes exercise as an unusual activity and period of stress from the increase in heart rate. The brain automatically gives a fight or fight response as a defense to the 'perceived' threat. This leads to the production Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Endorphine. Different neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin are also produced during physical exercise. These protein and neurotransmitters play major roles in increasing and improving the capacity and the capability of the brain.

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Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

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Exercise helps the brain to learn faster and improves memory drastically. This is a result of the production of BDNF, a protein that is produced in the endoplasmic recticulum in the brain.

BDNF protects and repairs your memory neurons, fosters the growth of new neurons and improves the signal among the neurons by binding them to the synapses. It essentially builds and ensures that the brain circuits are well maintained.
According to Dr. John Ratey in his book, Spark, a study that looked into 30 people suffering from depression found that every one of them had low level of BDNF.
The BDNF is a protein that effectively helps in combating anxiety and impaired learning. A certain and fastest way of increasing BDNF is through Exercise. A study in 2013 shows the level of BDNF increase by as much as 32% with only 20 - 40 minutes of aerobic exercise.

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The Neurotransmitters released during Exercise

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Dopamine

The promise of a reward motivates us to take actions. The area of the brain responsible for motivation, pleasure and action is the reward system of the brain. The brain released dopamine when exposed to a rewarding stimulus.

Dopamine is an important player in the reward system and it is released when there is an expectation of some reward. This makes life exciting. It makes us get off our butts and do stuffs and put some kind of values to our actions. A reward system of the brain not working properly and low on dopamine means the person will find it difficult to get motivated and get things done. There are pills, substances or drugs that artificially stimulates the release of dopamine but leads to 'unhealthy' dependency and addiction. With Exercise, you don't need drugs to get your brain's reward system working optimally and get dopamine released. Exercise increases the dopamine storage and dopamine receptors in your reward system hence boosts your motivation. Exercise gives you more willpower and focus to get things done and feel much better about yourself.

Endorphins

This neurotransmitter is associated with what is known as 'runner's high', the release of a chemical messenger that helps relief pain and stress. Endorphin release helps reduce significantly discomfort and blocks the sensation of pain that might arise from exercise. And replaces those with the feeling of pleasure. Endorphin is the reason we feel so good after exercise and the feeling, the mental effects often lasts a whole day. Like those feel-good drugs, this physiological chemical is also addictive like cocaine, nicotine and others but this chemical is overall good for your well-being.

Serotonin

This is a neurotransmitter that influences your mood, aggressiveness, sleep, appetite, relaxation, anger and so on. The feeling of anxiety, been stressed out or depression is a sign of likely low level of serotonin in the brain. Depression is the mood disorder resulting from a problem in the brain chemistry and leads to other health problems such as heart diseases.

Studies have shown that exercise has a direct influence on the serotonin level in the brain. Aerobic exercise is a natural therapy that raises the level of serotonin and hence improves your overall well-being and happiness.

Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine is the neurotransmitter that is ramped up during aerobic exercise, this chemical boosts your alertness and focus considerably. Low level of this neurotransmitter makes it hard to focus. Norepinephrine also increases your ability to retrieve information from your brain. A 20-minute exercise was found to increase cognitive ability and control of kids with ADHD in a study done at the University of Illinois. They were able to focus better and earned better grades in their tests than sendentary kids.
A workout is said to be effective before studying, examination or presentation. Especially If you are easily distracted at work or at school.

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Final Thought

Even if you are satisfied with your motivation, memory, alertness, sleep, appetite and overall well being, there is always a room for improvement in all these areas. And with the magic pill, that is exercise, you can rarely go wrong.

When it comes to exercise and movements generally, you are at your highest level of willpower immediately you get out of bed, that is the perfect time to exercise and set the tone for the rest of the day. Your morning exercise does not have be 'teeth clenching' and exhaustive, any physical stimulating activities as simple as walking, jogging, biking, running and so on will do. There you have it, a simple magic pill that will magically boost your mental capability and well being.

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Thanks for reading

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Free Images From Pixabay 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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Reference

Ratey, John J.,Hagerman, Eric. (2008) Spark :the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain New York : Little, Brown.

Gregory, G., & Kaufeldt, M. (2015). The motivated brain: improving student attention, engagement, and perseverance. Alexandria, Virginia, USA: ASCD.

Livestrong.com - Does Exercise Release a Chemical in the Brain?