🟠 Brain-changing Benefits of Exercise

Hey, welcome back to the Start Designing Life Newsletter! Each week we dive into key insights from top thought leaders and industry experts.

Our goal is to give you tips, tools, and strategies from the very best to design your life around.

Our mission? To get smarter every week by learning from the best of the best in 5 min or less.

This week, we’re learning from Dr. Wendy Suzuki, an expert on the brain-changing benefits of exercise.

She’s a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at NYU and has done amazing work on how physical activity improves brain function. She's the author of bestsellers such as “Healthy Brain, Happy Life” and “Good Anxiety”

In this issue, we’ll explore:

• How exercise can boost your brain power

• The connection between physical activity and cognitive health

• The Minimum Amount of Exercise Needed for Brain Health

— Matt Lok, Editor

1 Key Idea & 1 Fun Fact

🔸 Key Idea: Exercise for Brain Power

Dr. Wendy Suzuki’s key message is that physical activity is transformative for brain health. That exercise has immediate and long-lasting benefits, enhancing mood, focus, and cognitive abilities

🥕 Fun Fact: Personal Experiment Lead to Brain Discovery

Dr. Wendy Suzuki discovered the brain-changing effects of exercise through her own personal journey. At the height of her career in memory research, she realized she was unhappy and out of shape.

A river rafting trip motivated her to start exercising regularly. She tried various workouts and noticed not only physical benefits but also improved mood and cognitive function.

This personal experiment led her to shift her research focus entirely, dedicating her studies to understanding how exercise can improve brain function and protect against cognitive decline.

1 Main Idea

🟠 The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise

Dr. Wendy Suzuki emphasizes the transformative power of exercise on brain health. Her research shows that physical activity has immediate, long-lasting, and protective benefits for the brain.

Key Areas of Impact:

1. Immediate Effects: A single workout increases levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, boosting mood and energy. It also improves your ability to focus and enhances reaction times.

2. Long-Term Benefits: Regular aerobic exercise changes the brain’s anatomy, particularly the hippocampus, which is critical for memory. It increases the volume of the hippocampus and improves long-term memory and cognitive function.

3. Protective Effects: Exercise acts as a supercharged 401(k) for your brain. It strengthens the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, the areas most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. This helps delay the onset of conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

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An Analogy

The High-Performance Brain

Imagine your brain is like a high-performance car. It needs regular maintenance to run smoothly. The prefrontal cortex is the driver, helping you make decisions and stay focused, while the hippocampus is the GPS, storing your memories and important information.

Now, think of exercise as premium fuel for this car. Every time you exercise, you’re not just adding regular gas; you’re using a special fuel that boosts your car’s performance right away. This premium fuel – through neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin – makes the car run smoother and gives it more energy.

Regularly fueling with exercise upgrades your car’s parts. It strengthens the engine (hippocampus) by creating new, robust parts (brain cells), helping you remember better. It also enhances the steering system (prefrontal cortex), making it easier to focus and navigate life’s challenges.

By consistently using this exercise fuel, you’re building a strong, resilient machine. Your car can handle more wear and tear as it ages, just like how exercise protects your brain from cognitive decline and diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Steps, Tips & Questions

3 Steps:

1. Exercising Regularly – Incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine at least 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes. This will help improve mood, energy, and cognitive functions.

2. Consistency – Make exercise a habit. The long-term benefits for your brain come from regular, consistent activity, not just occasional workouts.

3. Move More Daily – Find simple ways to be more active every day, such as taking the stairs, walking during breaks, or power vacuuming. You don’t need a gym membership to stay active.

Questions to Help Maintain Your Exercise Routine

1. What types of physical activities do you enjoy the most?

2. How can you incorporate these activities into your daily routine?

3. What benefits have you noticed from regular exercise so far?

4. How can you stay motivated to continue exercising, even on busy or difficult days?

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Research & Statistics

• The Benefits of Exercise for the Clinically Depressed: They found exercise is as effective as medication in reducing symptoms of depression over 16 weeks.

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This week we’re walking in a park for better brain health.

Thank you for taking the time to read today’s issue of Start Designing Life! If you missed last week - 🟠 Start With Why. But until next time.

Stay curious,
Matt Lok, Editor

P.S. One of my favourite parts of writing these posts is looking into the Research & Statistics that back up the experts' claims. Learning that exercise was as effective as medication was pretty eye-opening. What’s your favourite section to read?

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📑 Resources

A big thank you for the work of Dr. Wendy Suzuki. Here are resources from this write-up & for further reading.

• Dr. Wendy Suzuki Website

• Healthy Brain, Happy Life

• Good Anxiety

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934999/

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