Why does exercise have such a big impact on the brain?

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If I go 3 days without exercising, I start experiencing brain fog and get depressed & more anxious. When I workout again, I gain mental clarity, become more motivated to take on the day, and like 75% of the self-deprecating thoughts I experience go away. Why does this happen to me? What’s the science behind this?

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9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

When you exercise you get dopamine. Dopamine increases motivation. Dopamine makes you feel good.

Anonymous 0 Comments

biologically, exercise causes your brain to release neurotransmitters (most importantly dopamine and endorphins). neurotransmitters basically carry the chemicals that are used to trigger certain feelings, and distributes them throughout your brain.

that being said, endorphins can physically lower feelings of stress and pain and increase mood and energy. dopamine contributes to feelings of pleasure, reward, and satisfaction. exercise is among the healthiest and most natural ways to trigger the release of these neurotransmitters in your brain.

there are also a few much more simple ways that it could help clear up negative feelings.

for one, it feels good to be productive. exercise is productive. when you exercise, you might feel a sense of purpose. and fulfilling that goal gives you an immediate sense of accomplishment for how hard you’re working.

it also loosens your muscles that are probably otherwise tense from feelings of anxiety and depression while forcing you to breathe more steadily. this reminds your anxious brain that you are safe.

exercising gives you something healthy to focus on. it can interrupt your rumination and anxious thoughts, and refocus your energy onto something real. i think that’s a big reason why its clearing up the brain fog and anxiety for you.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Exercise (strength, endurance, etc) increases brain derived neuropathic factor (BDNF). This protein helps with brain cell survival (maintenance) and growth.

More exercise = more BDNF = more brain cell integrity

Anonymous 0 Comments

To add to other comments, something not touched on is why exercise causes the release of these neurochemicals (dopamine, endorphins, BNDF). As far as I know, we don’t know the answer to that question, but if someone does know, I’d love to learn.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Some of what works for me is a sense of accomplishment.

There’s a bike trail near my house which has mile markers on it, and the start, where it says “0.0” is just over a mile from my house. The first time I got to the other end, where it said “10.0,” I felt like I’d climbed Everest.

Sure, maybe sometimes I feel worthless, but in that moment, I had achieved something, and making it all the way back home left me feeling proud of myself. At a guess, most people can’t ride more than 20 miles after they turn 60.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The easiest explanation is that everything in your body (*including your brain*) needs oxygen and needs food. Without either of those things your body’s cells generally don’t function.

Exercise helps both your respiratory system (*which gets oxygen from the air*) and your circulatory system (*which delivers food and oxygen*) become more efficient at their jobs, which makes your whole body (*including your brain*) more efficient.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Exercise and omega 3 helps to create myelin sheath which is the coating of your neurotransmitters that help deliver electric impulses (info in your brain).

Anonymous 0 Comments

Is that.. supposed to happen? I just feel tired and glad I’ve gotten it over with for the day.

Anonymous 0 Comments

There are a lot of layers to your question 😅

There is the ‚excercise increases blood circulation and is good for you‘ when done right Angle. Many more biologically versed commenters have explained that better than I could.

Then there is the ‚Meaning angle‘ that the way we are socialized is that almost constantly the expectations you feel is you should do something ‚ meaningful‘. Both you and the society Around you have accepted exercise as meaningful so if you don’t do it it might actually make you feel guilty or stressed which again impacts how your body feels. Don’t underestimate the physiological impact of mental stress on your body. It’s absolutely real.

And then there is the ‚psychological ‚ part of the equation. I can’t speak to how you feel, what makes you happy, how you see your life (I don’t know you personally 😊) but there is a thing our body does when going into ‚focus/performance‘ mode. It shuts down a lot of the more complex long term planning thoughts to focus on what your doing right now. To use a little survival simplification your body is saying „all your identity thoughts won’t matter if we don’t get away from the Tiger NOW!“ 😉

So in a sense workout is kind of putting all your anxieties aside in favor of the here and now. But it’s like drowning out a voice with loud music. The voice isn’t actually gone. Louder noises just shut it out. In that part exercise can help you break out of an anxiety spiral or find a break but to feel less anxious/self conscious/ stressed that is still up to you caring for yourself (with help like friends or a nice therapist) to improve.

How that was interesting/helpful. Its a layered question as I said 😁🤗