Exercise Calms You Down
When we think of exercise, what
comes to mind is usually its benefits to body organs such as the circulatory
system. But, did you know that exercise is just what the doctor ordered when it
comes to reducing anxiety? It’s true. Next time you’re upset and have the urge
to eat, move your body instead. Here’s why.
Scientists have long known that
exercise combats anxiety, but not exactly how that process works—until now.
According to “How exercise calms the brain” (THE WEEK, 7/26/13), “physical
activity creates excitable new neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain
that regulates emotion, thinking, and memory.” One would think that this
process would make people more anxious, but it works just the opposite.
Studying active and sedentary mice, Princeton researchers discovered that the
brains of mice that ran on their wheels regularly contained more of a specific
neuron that releases the neurotransmitter called gabapentin, or GABA for short,
which keeps a lid on other young excitable neurons becoming overactive.
Care to guess what happens when
both sedentary and wheel-running mice were exposed to stress? It turns out that
that “their excitable neurons lit up as expected…but unlike the sedentary mice,
the fit mice also released a large amount of GABA, which quickly quelled their anxiety.” The researchers therefore concluded
that “routine exercise changes human
brains similarly, helping us relax in the face of stress.”
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Source: Normal Eating - Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs
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