Movement is crucial for your brain—a 2019 Frontiers review shows that physical activity is an important factor in healthy brain function. Specifically, moving your body helps increase blood flow, ensuring oxygen and nutrients reach your brain and promoting optimal brain activity. It also supports the production of neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which affect everything from motivation and mood to attention, focus, and learning.
On the flip side, lack of physical activity can negatively affect your brain health. One 2018 study published in Frontiers had students from elementary, middle, high school, and college walk for 10 minutes before doing a slew of memory-based and problem-solving tasks. As a whole, those who walked beforehand performed better on the tasks than those who didn’t. So, if you want to stay alert throughout your workday, refresh your mind by stepping away from your desk and walking around the block.
